I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and to against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

"Yes, and why, even of yourself, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

- Luke 12:49-59

 On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught:  "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants who the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come into the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  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."  Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"  My study bible tells us that fire references the proclamation of the gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3).  This is a fire that enlivens the faithful and at the same time judges the faithless; my study bible also says that it purifies virtue and destroys sin (see 3:16; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).  

"But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!"  Baptism refers to Christ's Passion; baptism itself is a sacrament of death and rebirth.   

"Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division."  My study bible tells us that there are two kinds of peace.  There is a false peace, to which Christ refers here.  That is a shallow harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth.  True peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  A genuine peace has division as a byproduct, as not everyone wants truth.   In the fallen world, my study bible notes, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see 1 Corinthians 11:18-19). 

"For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and to against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  This is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah 7:6 .  (Jesus quotes from Micah in Matthew 10:36.)  In addition to the literal meaning, which my study bible says has been experienced in the Church since the time of Christ, this division between the older and younger generation also symbolizes the rejection of the new covenant by followers of the old, in addition to our personal spiritual struggle between our old sinful state and the renewal possible in Christ (see Ephesians 4:20-24). 

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?"   This time is the revelation of the Kingdom of God in the first coming of Christ, His Incarnation and public ministry.

"Yes, and why, even of yourself, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."  My study bible says that just as a guilty person would attempt to reconcile with an opponent before facing an earthly judge, even more so should a person seek to be reconciled to God in Christ before facing judgment.

Jesus speaks of spreading a fire on the earth.  This is the fire of the Gospel and the truth of the mission of the divine Son in the world, His ministry to all of us.  This fire is a living presence also of the Holy Spirit.  In John's Gospel, Jesus makes reference to the Spirit of truth who will be sent to those who follow Him.    This truth is like a fire.  The energies of God burn like a fire, which embraces that which is compatible with God's love and truth, and burns that which is not.  This is how we should think of hell fire, not as something separate from God and God's works, but the same fire of God's love that burns away that which cannot stand in its energy.  Jesus gives us another understanding about truth that is not very popular in contemporary culture, a truth that divides rather than sorts itself out in varying degrees of acceptance.  This is a kind of truth that exists as spiritual truth.  Was Jesus divinely sent?  Are His words truthful?  Are His teachings truthful?  In real time, is God present to us in the form of the Spirit, this fire that has been sent to the earth?  Is there a truth in a particular circumstance, a truth of justice and righteousness, one which calls us toward its recognition?  Or is everything a question of semantics, or shades of perspective?  At some point, there must be a call to truth.  Jesus tells us that this truth is one that will cause division, even within the closest relationships we have.  It is not a question of being truthful because everyone accepts it, but rather of a spiritual reality that not everyone can accept.  In light of this, what should we think when we attempt to share the Gospel with others?  Do we expect that all will accept it?  And even among nominal Christians, there is a process of repentance that is ongoing in our experience of our faith.  We must accept that all of us are, in some way and another, adjusting within this process of God's call to us to repentance or "change of mind" as the word literally means in the Greek.  If we stand in the fire of God the Holy Spirit, in the fire of the words of truth that Christ gives us, which the Spirit will recall to our hearts and minds, are we not also called to a division and reconciliation which is ongoing and recurring throughout our lives?  We should explore and understand Christ's words about fire.  This is a fire which He says He came to send upon the earth, a very deliberate expression of mission.  It is a fire He vehemently says He wishes were already kindled!  He even tells us how eager He is for the Baptism that is to come; He says He is distressed until it is accomplished.  It is this fire, this division, that is the aim and thrust of mission.  It is this fire that is in our hearts if we accept Him and His truth; it is this fire with which we live and which inflames our own lives and choices.  Let us consider that it is not up to us whether all should accept; rather what is up to us is to live in the spirit of that fire, to allow it to shape us and inflame our own lives.  Let us not forget that, as St. Paul reminds us, God makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire (Psalm 104:4, Hebrews 1:7).  This is the mission He calls us to accept and enter into with Him, and the fire is the great gift He leaves us from His own Baptism into which He will enter.

You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

- Matthew 16:1-12

Yesterday we read that Jesus departed from the region of  Tyre and Sidon, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.  Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.  Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times." A sign from heaven is a demand for a spectacular display of power, meant to prove that Jesus is the Christ (or Messiah).  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, my study bible says.  However, these hypocrites haven't recognized the many signs already being performed by Jesus, because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  It's important to know that the word for testing Him can also mean "tempting" Him.  This second meaning gives us insight into the strong character of Jesus, who will conduct His ministry with strict loyalty to the Father and the need for discerning true faith rather than offering proofs.

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  An adulterous generation is one without loyalty to God.  It's an illustration used for Israel by the prophets when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 2; Hosea 2:2-13). The sign of the prophet Jonah is a veiled prediction of Christ's death and Resurrection, my study bible tells us.  This is the ultimate sign that Jesus is the Christ. 

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine, and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  The reason the disciples are so slow to understand is that they have such little faith, as Jesus tells them.  It is after Pentecost that they will grasp His teachings, when the Holy Spirit is given.

Why does it take the disciples so long to catch on to what Jesus is teaching to them, saying to them?  Even Christ Himself seems to be surprised and exasperated, asking, "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?"  My study bible points out that there are two things involved here:  the first is their little faith.   The second element that will change things in the future is the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Perhaps what we can infer from this is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit discerns in us what is potential for faith, for trust in God, for relationship and participation in the Kingdom, and helps facilitate the manifestation of the effects of that faith.  Surely wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit, as witnessed throughout both the Old and the New Testament.  But there is more than wisdom here; there is the capacity to hear Christ, to understand Him, to discern His meaning.  Faith is involved, and faith is trust.  Where hearts are hardened there is no trust at all.  Both the leadership and the disciples fail in some sense.  In the case of the Pharisees and Sadducees, there is a condition of pride and envy.   Among the disciples, we see the slow work of faith and its gradual progress within us.  Jesus has compared the kingdom of heaven to leaven, that gradually works its way through the whole of a lump of dough.  Here we observe the painfully slow progress made, and the disciples' lack of understanding at this point.  It seems even to be a mystery to Jesus, although He understands their "little faith."  In both cases, it is lack of faith that keeps us from discerning, from understanding.  Faith itself has a mysterious depth:  can we really say how it works in us and why?  When we pray to God, let us remember the work of the Holy Spirit, and how that work helps us to grow in likeness to Christ, to manifest our potentials for understanding Him and His word to us.   We pray that obstacles to our faith, such as hard-heartedness and our own blindness to ourselves and our motivations, be removed from us.  We accept that there is always room for more work, more growth. Above all, Jesus brings to us a Kingdom of love, and seeks our love for a depth of participation and understanding not possible in any other way but through the trust He offers and asks of us.  How deeply are you willing to trust in Him?  What keeps you apart?

Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

- Matthew 16:1-12

Yesterday we read that Jesus departed from the region of Tyre and Sidon, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat there.  Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few fish."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.  Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  What is a sign from heaven?  In yesterday's reading, we read of the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, all signs of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the time of the Messiah.  But here, members of the ruling Council come from Jerusalem to test Him.  They demand a spectacular display of power in order that He prove Himself to them.  The time of the Messiah, my study bible says, was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs that are already being performed.  Their hearts are hardened -- they ignore the works that are happening all around them.  Instead, they create more demands.  Jesus refuses to deliver a sign on demand.  He offers them only the sign of the prophet Jonah, His death and Resurrection after three days.  There is also a message here, in that Jonah was sent by God to prophecy to Gentiles, the Ninevites.  They were Assyrian enemies of the Jews, a great power of the time.   Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, their king led them in repentance and to God's mercy.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  My study bible says that the reason the disciples are painfully slow to understand is that they have such little faith.  They will not fully grasp Christ's teachings until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.

In today's reading, we have a study in faith, or rather a lack of faith.  Even though Jesus has done many great signs, the Pharisees and Sadducees can't recognize this.  Perhaps it is that they simply don't want to.  Certainly they see Jesus as a rival to their positions of authority.  Among the people, we're told (in yesterday's reading, above), the multitude marvels and glorifies the God of Israel at the sight of His many healings.  If Jesus is truly the prophesied Messiah, this is a serious challenge to the position of the ruling Council, and to the Pharisees and Sadducees who come to test Him.  But they don't just give Him a test.  They demand a stupendous sign.   They ignore what is happening around them, and the words of Scripture (in which they are experts) that convey clues to Jesus' identity:  the prophesies fulfilled, the "types" from the Old Testament that can be observed in all He does.  Their hearts are hardened to this awareness, and they have no discernment.   It is this for which Jesus takes them to task, saying that they can see the signs of the weather, but they can't discern the signs of the times.  Funnily enough (and not for the first time in Matthew's Gospel), the lack of faith in the Pharisees and Sadducees is contrasted with the apparent lack of comprehension of the disciples, which Jesus says is due to their little faith.  So there are two groups of people who cannot discern what Jesus says and does.  One group is fiercely opposed to Him and seeking His destruction, while the other group form His disciples.  This paradox is an important one, because it's given to us quite deliberately.  The disciples also lack insight into what He's telling them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  And, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, they don't seem to have comprehended the astonishing miracles of feeding the five thousand and the four thousand with a few loaves and fish in the wilderness!  This may seem hard to understand, but if we look around ourselves we may find in experience the potential that human beings have to ignore facts that are in front of their eyes.  Our minds have filtering mechanisms that work particularly as a defense against things which seem too great for us to comprehend, overwhelming, and possibly threatening to our perspectives.  And this is the key here with Christ:  what He brings is overwhelming.  It is too great for the disciples to take in, although they follow Him.  And it is too much for the leadership to sacrifice their positions of authority to anyone.  What the disciples have in their favor, although they are in this moment those of little faith, is their humility.  It is this that stands in great contrast to the leadership that comes to test Jesus.  It is this that reminds us of the people of Nineveh, who repented because of Jonah's preaching, and thus found God's mercy.   It is humility that saves us from the worst effects of hypocrisy, because in humility we can follow Christ's example and know that it's not the praise of men that counts, but rather the praise of God (John 12:43).  Faith also implies and asks of us a trust in God.  In fact, the Greek word for faith in the Gospels really means "trust."  The disciples trust in Jesus.  These men from the Pharisees and Sadducees who come to test Jesus fear for their places and zealously guard their authority.  When it comes to discernment, there is perhaps no greater guide to its acquisition than a heart that trusts in God above all else.  To be on guard against false prophets and false doctrine is a good thing, for which we also need discernment.   But God is also always leading us somewhere, and for that we need humility and the desire for a pure heart without mixed motives.   The disciples are on this journey, but the hypocrisy of the authorities in today's reading keeps them from it.  Let us guard our own hearts today and take this message to heart.  In what do you put your trust for the journey?

This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing. 

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

- Luke 22:14-30

Yesterday we read that the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  My study bible says that Christ has a fervent desire for this Passover because this meal will impart the mysteries of the new covenant to His followers, and because this event will inaugurate the great deliverance of humanity from sin through the power of the Cross.   It is from the Greek word for suffer here in this verse that we derive the word "Passion."

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."   This is the first cup, which concludes the Old Testament Passover meal Christ eats with His disciples to fulfill the Law.  When Jesus says until the kingdom of God comes, He's speaking of His Resurrection.  At that time He will eat and drink again with His disciples (24:43; Acts 10:41).

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."   Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."  It is from the root of the Greek word for gave thanks that we derive the word eucharist.  This immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and Sacrament of Holy Communion in the Church.  Before end of the first century, the Didache (the earliest known teaching manuscript of the Church, ascribed to the apostles) refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist."  My study bible also cites St. Justin, who says in AD 150 of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body."  From the time of the ancient Church it was accepted that Christ's words are true, "that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (Justin Martyr).  This is simply a mystical reality.  In the Eastern Church it remains accepted as such, without theory or explanation.  The Church knows Christ as both God and human.  In the Eucharist is the fullness of the incarnate Christ; hence, a deep Mystery.

 "But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study bible points out to us that Judas, too, is invited to the table for the mystical supper.  Jesus is seeking by all means to save him.  But it is his ultimately unworthy participation that leads to his utter destruction (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; compare Esther 7).

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  As Jesus has just spoken of the coming of the kingdom of God,  the apostles enter into a small-minded dispute about who will be considered the greatest among them in this kingdom.  They have their minds on worldly affairs -- even has Christ has just revealed great mysteries to them.  He corrects them first by comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom (as my study bible puts it) they themselves considered an abomination.  He also contrasts them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study bible quotes Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles, my study bible says, will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  This reflects the many times Jesus cited righteous figures from Israel's past as those who would judge the leadership of His time and their failure to know Him.  God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ; therefore the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  That is, not through position, but through lives of righteousness and the true depth of the heart ("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" - Matthew 5:8).

There is everything we can find in today's reading, all the ups and downs, highs and lows, the sacred and the profane in Christ's life.  We begin with the great mystery of the Eucharist, that which is given to us so that we affirm and remember His presence with us.  It is the heart of the Liturgy, and how we remember Him and seek to live to Him as His followers.  It is the fullness of the Church and His very life that He gives to us.  He tells them this is the last cup He will drink before He suffers.  If we look up the Greek verb suffer, we find that it indicates things that happen to us -- that which causes strong feeling.  This is where we get the word passion (the Greek verb "to suffer" is pasxo, a root also for pathos).  If we ask ourselves, "Does God suffer?" then all we must do is look at Christ and His human life and we must affirm that indeed, God suffers.  Christ suffers with us.  The capacity for this depth of feeling, of passion, good or bad, is considered to be reflective of the fact that we are, indeed, made in the image of God.  The Incarnation indisputably teaches us that our God is not simply a detached intellect, a kind of computational spirit that winds up the universe like a clock, but a Person, one who is personal -- one who feels.  His suffering isn't merely stoic, but is one of true fullness and depth of feeling, a kind of heroism that lives through and transcends.  His rejection is absolute, and so is His love!  He continues to try to save Judas, offering him another chance with Him, to be one of them.  It is an example of how Christ offers us everything.  Even those closest to Him, His closest disciples, the apostles, fail even to take in His words, to understand the nature of His kingdom, to hear His words about His suffering -- and squabble over who will be the greatest as if Jesus is talking about becoming a worldly king.  And again, it is opportunity for teaching.  His concern is for His Church, and what kind of leadership it will have.  His emphasis is service, and He is the prime example of what kind of leadership He chooses for His kingdom.  It is important that we understand all of these things to be here and present, because they are all here and present for us in our lives, even in our every day lives in this world.  So we go through suffering and passion.  So we are capable of love and service.  So we walk, with Him.  At those times in our lives when we are called upon for some sort of sacrifice, and even to suffer the highs and lows of emotional depth and even trauma, let us remember Him.  He was there first, for us.  He is here present, with us, to see us through it all and take us to His kingdom, with Him.

When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:  "There was a in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

- Luke 18:1-8

Yesterday we read that when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."  Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'  Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left."  And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:  "There was a in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus described tribulation to come to the world (see above, 17:22-37).  My study bible says that persistent and faithful prayer, as described by the tenacious widow in Jesus' parable, is the remedy for that tribulation.  Prayer is the "recipe" for our way of life in this time that we live in.  St. Paul teaches, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  All of these things:  rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks, refer mainly to prayer.

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  My study bible says that Christ often uses this form of a question when speaking of characteristics that are rarely found (see also 11:11, 12:42).

The time of tribulation and testing isn't only about a period just before Christ's return.  It is a certain way that we can think about the period we live in now, the age, which begun with Christ's Incarnation and will continue until His Second Coming.  It is a time of testing, that requires discernment on our part.  There's a struggle going on, a spiritual battle.  Christ is the "stronger man" who has come to bind the "strong man" (see Luke 11:21-23).  With this description, Jesus responded to those who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons.  In effect, what Christ described is something He has come here to do, to claim His authority in our world -- over that of the "prince" or "ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  What that indicates is a kind of power struggle going on, a spiritual battle behind the scenes of our world, one in which we struggle -- as followers of Christ -- with things that may oppose our faith and our work in discipleship to Him or as servants of Christ.  This isn't like a political battle in the world we see around us, nor is it manifest as some sort of real-world military battle.  This is a battle that goes on in the midst of us, where we meet the kingdom of God that is within us.  It's a battle in which we struggle within ourselves, because it is a battle for hearts and minds, for souls.  Therefore the key to this particular struggle is discernment.  The way to help our capacities for discernment, to arm ourselves in the struggle for faith, is through practices that shore up our own discipleship -- but the main weapon is prayer.  In fact, one could say that all practices of the Church:  almsgiving, fasting, worship, thanksgiving, etc. are forms of prayer.  They are ways of communion with the One whom we serve.  We rely on His Holy Spirit.  We seek relationship always with the Father, Son, and Spirit.  Where one is, there the others are also.  To stay in communion -- to pray --  is to choose a side, to wage a battle, to struggle for one's own faith.  And so, St. Paul teaches us, "Pray without ceasing."   It is upon this kind of struggle that Christ establishes His Church in the world, and gives us the Kingdom within us.  And He asks, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"   This question is not for the time of His return, as He's made perfectly clear that we don't know what time that is.  It is always asked for right now.

Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all

 Now they were going on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

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

- Mark 10:32-45

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

 Now they were going on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  The disciples are both amazed and afraid, because Jesus is boldly going to Jerusalem, leading the way to the place He has avoided throughout His ministry.  They know that the leadership is plotting against Him.  Being both amazed and afraid is a repeated reaction to Jesus in the Gospels.  This is the third time Jesus has predicted His Passion, and it's more vivid than before.  He prophesies they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him.  My study bible says that His repeated predictions of the Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  It also clearly affirms that, knowing what is going to happen, He goes voluntarily of His own will and choosing. 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And he said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  Perhaps John and James are inspired by Jesus' setting His sights on and leading His way toward Jerusalem.  They feel the Kingdom is imminent, as they understand Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah (Jesus has, after all, prophesied that He will rise again on the third day).  We can sense the focus of the request, even though Jesus has just prophesied quite clearly and graphically His suffering and death.  To sit on His right hand and His left is to hold the places of highest honor in His Kingdom. 

But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."   John and James Zebedee will indeed drink the cup of martyrdom and persecution.  James will be the first martyr among the apostles, and John will face exile and persecution.  My study bible explains that to drink the cup is an indication once again of the voluntary nature of such sacrifices, and the baptism Jesus refers to is death (He was completely immersed in it, and yet it cleansed the world -- see Romans 6:3-6).  Jesus' Kingdom is one which is not ruled with the arbitrary power of worldly kings of His time, nor with the sheer manipulative power we might understand today.   Rather it is one of voluntary service; the places of honor are prepared by God.  St. John Chrysostom writes that no one could occupy an equal place on the right and the left of Christ.  In the Orthodox church, the places of saints (human beings given honor) are chiefly occupied by icons on the right and the left of Christ:  the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women), and John the Baptist (greatest born of women). 

And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  This is the clearest expression by Jesus of the difference between worldly power and the power of the Kingdom.  To "lord it over" others is not the aim and goal of holy power, but to serve.  He sets the supreme example of service by the example of the His death, to give His life a ransom for many.  For many, explains my study bible, is an Aramaic expression that means "for all."

So what is power?  How does one use power?  What is greatness, and how is it connected to being a "man of power" (or a person of power) within the ranks of hierarchy and ruling position?  These are questions we're invited to think about in today's reading.  To be the greatest in a kingdom is a question of authority, of strength, and of position.  But Jesus' aim in His ministry is not for worldly power.  His aim is to bring a different kind of Kingdom into the world.  His aim is for a heavenly Kingdom, the will of the Father to be done "on earth as it is in heaven."  What does it mean to be a part of a Kingdom in which Christ is at the helm?  Certainly in today's reading He teaches us the first rule.  Those who would be greatest must be servants of all.   I think we cannot get this confused with simply the desire to do what others ask of us.  (Jesus does not simply give to John and James what they desire.)  The head of this Kingdom is Christ, and He teaches us to pray that the will of the Father be done on earth as it is in heaven.  We know where our direction comes from.  Service does not mean simply doing what others would desire of us without discernment.  Without discernment we have no sense of what this Kingdom is about, because we leave behind its direction, its head, its true nature.  Service by Christ, in the form of His Passion and death and Resurrection, comes to all by virtue of its benefits, blessings, and liberation offered and given for all human beings.  It comes in obedience to the will of the Father, not "going along" with the leadership and their choices.   Humility, as the greatest saintly virtue, becomes the capacity to sacrifice in order to serve God and humanity; it is a necessary quality for discernment, the capacity to serve God -- to place God's will ahead of one's own.  Christ stands worldly power on its head not simply by teaching about service and humility, but by sacrificing "worldly" notions of what is good for God's notions of what is good.  How can it be that God the Father is served by the death of Christ on the Cross?  St. Peter spoke for all human impulse when he denied that Jesus should go to his death.  But Christ's response to Peter was to tell him, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (see Mark 8:30-35).  God's plans for true service are from a perspective too great for us, for human sight, and often seem to make no sense at all.  Jesus' death on the Cross is most certainly a scandal, for essential reasons.  Therefore we must come to yet another conclusion about service and the power of the holy:  that it may be a scandal to fellow human beings and within the social context in which it takes place.  This is the paradox of faith, a perspective too big for us to see in so many ways and at so many times.  Power itself becomes essentially a kind of paradox within our point of view of Christ and of Christian faith.  How do we have power by serving others, by self-sacrifice?  If power means "impact," then we are on quite another trail of thought.  Jesus may not have been crowned a human king over a human empire, but in terms of the liberating power of His sacrifice there is no doubt of the ongoing impact -- yet another incalculable mystery we can't see nor define for its vast perspective far beyond our sights.  To serve, then, means understanding what service truly is, how holiness impacts the world as a force of liberation from our assumptions of how one uses power, or how free we truly are.  Jesus' death on the Cross will come voluntarily.  It is neither an affirmation of the ways in which He will be betrayed nor of the desires of the leadership to rid themselves of Him.  But one needs particular eyes and ears to understand this, a particular discernment, the capacity to truly see.  Above all, this happens through grace, and the strength conferred in faith to know how to serve the greatest good for all.

You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is is you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

- Matthew 16:1-12

 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.  Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.  Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  That both Pharisees and Sadducees are here together, demanding a sign from heaven, is important.  It shows the growing influence of Christ's ministry.  The fact that members of both groups are here tells us notice of Him is important enough that they have come to see and to confront.  A sign from heaven would be a spectacular display of power -- supposedly requested so that He prove He's the Messiah, a holy one sent by God.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, prophesied in Scripture.  But clearly there are an abundance of these signs all around.  In yesterday's reading, we were told of the multitudes marveling, when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  These are clear signs named by the prophets, so this question is one made in hypocrisy, demanding proofs so they recognize authority in Him.  It's not the first time we've heard this demand.   In chapter 12, Jesus was asked by some Pharisees and scribes, in response to His criticism, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  (See By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.)  Their deliberate dullness of perception serves as example of hardened hearts.

He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  How is it they can discern the weather, but they can't "see" what is happening in His ministry, or recognize the works He's already done as signs?   In chapter 12, when He was previously requested to show a sign, He also referred to an evil and adulterous generation that asked for a sign.  Evil is ill-willed, adulterous refers to the relationship to the God of Israel.  They have no loyalty, no fidelity to God.  And again, this is the same response He gave in chapter 12, to refer to the sign of the prophet Jonah.   He has not performed any great work without the presence of faith first, and He won't do it now.  Only His death and Resurrection will be a sign for the whole world.  To test God isn't a motive worthy of His response; their faith would lack anyway.  Love isn't compelled, it's voluntary.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is is you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  My study bible tells us that the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees is their doctrine and hypocrisy.  This demand for a sign from heaven is just a way of drawing a line in the sand, setting themselves up as judges of the ways that God "must" be at work in the world.  It doesn't come from the faith in God that allows perception of the heart in the first place.  They're too enamored of their own authority in the first place.  That kind of leaven, testing for a sign, is a way of hardening the heart rather than having it open to spiritual illumination, to God who is always surprising and always revealing things we don't already know or understand.  Leaven has been used by Christ as a positive metaphor in the parable of the leaven "hid in three measures of meal" (see this reading).  But generally speaking is used throughout Scripture as a negative, something mixed into and tainting what would otherwise be good, or pure.  In terms of faith, we have to ask why the disciples don't understand Him.  The answer is that at this point, they're painfully slow as they have little faith, as Jesus tells them.  It teaches us about the importance of the Spirit to our own comprehension and capability for faith.  They won't fully grasp His teachings until Pentecost, the time when the Holy Spirit was given.

Sometimes it seems like our own authority interferes with the authority of God.  It's hard -- maybe impossible on some level -- for human beings to grasp the concept or reality of a being much greater than ourselves.  Try understanding a concept that requires knowledge greater than one already possesses.  It requires a constant change of assumptions, as new information comes to light.  In science, this happens all the time.  Physics, for example, particularly in advanced fields of research like theoretical nuclear physics, must change all the time, in terms of scientific beliefs.  A new particle is discovered, or not, and it changes all of the assumptions upon which the science and its theories have already been based.  In fact, there was recently the "discovery" of what was called the "God-particle."  What was so revolutionary about this news?  It actually confirmed theories already formed, held, and taught.  That was news.  In that light, it's strange that some people claim science precludes the possibility of the existence of God or even signs by Christ; it does no such thing, not even in theory.  Being on a journey with God is something akin to that process of discovery, where what is so much greater than we are leads us into new things, new ways of thinking, a bigger picture than we already have.  Just as the New Testament is revealed through Christ, magnifying the picture already given in the Old, but defying expectations at the same time, so is the individual journey of faith.  Our expectations just can't measure up to the immeasurable God.  So it is with these men who demand a sign.  All they're really asking for is a confirmation of their own authority, the right to judge God, rather than accepting the unfolding and greater revelation of God present in Christ's ministry.  So what does it mean that we harden our hearts?  It means that we refuse to engage with that part of ourselves that is capable of discernment, and that we lack the humility for any form of repentance or "change of mind" as the word literally means in Greek (metanoia).   There's a reason why Jesus gives us the example of the faith of a child.  Humility means we're willing to learn and to change, to cast off the things we might call "sacred," so to speak, in order to find deeper meaning, and broader understanding.  And that's the journey of prayer, the journey with Christ.  Oftentimes our own discoveries are of things we hold onto that we need to let go, opening up a space of "unknown" in order to be led by God.  If you think about it, spiritual practices that ask for sacrifice, like fasting, or giving alms by donating what we have -- such as time, money, possessions, or skills, for example -- "open up" and make room for places to be filled by God.  These men can't give up their own authority and find a greater one; their own places are too precious for them.  Let us remember what it is to have a hardened heart, and the one thing needed to really invest in and open up to in our faith.  Everything else comes second.  Sometimes the signs may be all around us, but we need to wake up to our own ability to discern them.

The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves

 Now there was a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves. 

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

- Luke 22:24-30

Yesterday, we read that when the hour had come for the Passover Meal -- the Last Supper, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."    Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

  Now there was a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study bible tells us that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries that Christ has just revealed at the Last Supper (the Eucharist).  Perhaps it is Jesus' mention of fulfillment "in the kingdom of God" (see yesterday's reading, above).   Jesus corrects the disciples; this kingdom is nothing like a worldly one.  He first compares them to power-hungry Gentiles -- the kings of the world -- whom they themselves consider an abomination.  He contrasts these kings to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.   His voluntary death on the Cross will be the ultimate sacrifice and service to all the world, past, present, and future.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study bible quotes Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles -- as those who will sit on thrones in the kingdom -- will not judge with earthy judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  My study bible tells us:  "Since God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23)."

It's a real lesson to all of us how Jesus' disciples immediately jump to considerations of who's going to be the greatest in this kingdom He is talking about.  He's just given them the Eucharist, He's rather explicitly laying out His sacrifice on the Cross, what is going to happen.  It's obviously of tremendous, exceptional importance when He tells them they must "do this in remembrance of Me."  After all, this is a command without time limits, and 2,000 years later is still the center and focus of our worship.  They also fail to understand the tremendous mystical reality that has just been instituted and given to them.  So, all in all, we could say that this is a great example of how our "worldly" minds work.  In that context, it's interesting that the first lesson He teaches them is humility.  It's the secret and the key to His power, His way.  In fact His whole system of power works in the opposite way in which they're thinking, the opposite and totally unexpected way compared to the kings of the Gentiles and the examples of great worldly power they know around themselves.  This isn't going to be that kind of kingdom!  Even though they have been His disciples for quite some time, living with Him, learning from Him in daily life throughout His ministry, witnessing His teaching and healing -- they still aren't in that place where their minds don't automatically jump to a worldly image of power at the mention of the fulfillment of His kingdom.   As leaders and judges to be, they must have it in their heads to serve, as He does.  And what does it mean to serve?  It means, as St. Ambrose has said above in the quotation from my study bible, the exercise of virtue, witnessing.  Our lives become examples of upholding His truth and His love.  We stand up for something.  We don't let easy sentiment drive our lives.  We don't take our opinions and emotions from the "worldly" and let the world sway us with its vehemence.  We stand with Him.  He is the One who has made the great sacrifice in order to institute a Kingdom and bring us all into it.  We must be like Him and not lose our heads to the worldly, to exaggerated and easy notions of power, to over-excited emotions and what the crowds of the moment seem to trumpet.  We witness by practicing virtue, we learn the discernment of the heart.   For that we must be right in our own center, with Him where He lives and dwells within us, focused in prayer, in what we know are the virtues He has taught, starting with humility -- not the focus on the desires of the crowds and the trappings of worldly glory.  His example of service is just the opposite of that.  We live in a world that still desperately needs such witnessing, such a Kingdom, such virtue and discernment of the heart.  Can we help serve it?


 

I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather;' and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

- Luke 12:49-59

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourself be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  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."  Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!"   Two important things are happening in these sentences.  Of the first, my study bible tells us that fire "references the proclamation of the gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This fire both enlivens the faithful and judges the faithless; it purifies virtue and destroys sin (see 3:16; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15)."  By contrast here, it says that Jesus' baptism is His own Passion that is in His future.

"Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division."  A note says, "There are two kinds of peace.  False peace, to which Christ refers here, is a shallow harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth.  Genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  Genuine peace has division as a byproduct because not everyone wants truth.  In the fallen world, divisions are necessary for truth to manifest (see 1 Corinthians 11:18-19)."

"For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  My study bible tells us that this fulfills the prophecy of Micah 7:6.  "In addition to its literal meaning, which has been experienced in the Church since the time of Christ, the older generation being divided from the younger generation also symbolizes (1) the rejection of the new covenant by the followers of the old covenant, and (2) the spiritual struggle between our old, sinful state and our renewal in Christ (see Ephesians 4:20-24)."

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather;' and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?"   This time is the revelation of the Kingdom of God in the first coming of Jesus Christ, says my study bible.    We are once again reminded of the necessity of discernment, of eyes to see.  That is, eyes like lamps that illumine where we are going.  (See Tuesday's reading, in which Jesus taught, "The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.")

"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."   A note says here, "Just as a guilty person would attempt to reconcile with his opponent before facing an earthly judge, even more so should one be reconciled to God in Christ before facing His dread judgment."  

There is a repeated focus on the necessity of discernment in recent readings; Jesus is preparing His followers for His "baptism" of the Passion, and also the fire on the earth that will come in the form of the Holy Spirit.   Judgment is about how we respond to this fire, the One who tests everything.  The fire is also likened to the "energies" of grace, this great gift pouring out upon the earth after Jesus' "baptism" in the Passion.  This is His mission, and He's giving it to us, laying it all out for us, in today's reading.  This "fire" in the person and energies of the Holy Spirit may divide us.  Truth comes in what appear to be divisions to us, so that we may use our discernment to reconcile with the Spirit, with Christ.  This is the great place where we are now in the state of things, in the world, in the Church as a universal call of the fire of the Holy Spirit, and we are all asked to discern and reconcile, an ongoing work.  If we can see ourselves in this place, as those who need both vigilance and discernment, to make efforts to reconcile ourselves to Christ, in this great fire of the Spirit that is at work all the time, we may get a clearer picture of life as it truly is, inseparable from the life of the Spirit in us and in the world.  It's when we separate this vision out into two, and compartmentalize Spirit as if it is not fire but merely a kind of wispy, ethereal presence we can forget about, that we miss the real vision of how vital our lives and choices really are.  From the beginning, the Church has held to the understanding that we human beings are holistic:  Body, mind, soul and spirit are all inseparable from one another.  Without discernment run the risk of missing the true dynamics of life, separating out the power of God, and thereby the work of the Spirit, from what we focus on as our reality.  The truth is that if we were really aware of what is going on around us, we would understand better this fire and its work and presence, just the way the burning bush appeared to Moses.  But we need eyes to really see and perceive this fire, this energy, this light.  More importantly, Jesus tells us that in this time when we await His return, we need this discernment in order to understand what is going on, and to see more clearly in our own lives where we need to be reconciled, what we need to work on, and all the power and meaning His baptism and this holy fire give our lives.  It's a much more potent, creative life than our dreams and imaginations can stir minus these energies, this grace.  It's also a necessity for spiritual awareness that colors our lives in new ways.  It is inseparable from a search for truth.  The struggle for spiritual truth isn't just about a kind of political struggle based on theoretical abstract and intellectual understanding.  It's not just about laws.  The struggle for spiritual truth involves all of who we are, minus nothing.  That would include the fruits of the Spirit present to us at all times:  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).   All of these things are also a part of the struggle, energies by grace given to us in order to participate in this search for truth, the wholeness of life, the inseparability of body, soul, mind, spirit.  Let us remember His baptism and the fire He sends, and all that they bring to our lives.  Let us know of the struggle, the vigilance, and the discernment, the fire that must be a part of the life He baptizes us into.

Enter by the narrow gate

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, 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.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

- Matthew 7:13-21

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, given in Matthew chs. 5-7.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught:   "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 who 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."

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  My study bible notes here:  "The description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deut. 30:15-20, Psalm 1 . . .) and in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version (Luke 13:24-30) is more eschatological, referring to the end of the age.  Because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12), entering the Kingdom is the more difficult way."

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."  My study bible tells us:  "Because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  Thus, we must be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous."

"You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, 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."  The statement, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire," was also made by John the Baptist.  See Matthew 3:10.

Once again in today's reading, as in yesterday's, Jesus is calling us to discernment.  What is this narrow way?  How do we make good choices, and avoid the wide and broad way that leads to destruction, into which so many apparently go?  Jesus warns us, gives us a preview, that this way He is teaching is not only through a narrow gate but it is difficult - and there are few who find it.   So He is giving us warning, telling us to pay attention:  His way is one that requires our attention, our active discernment, our constant effort.  This is not to say we are on our own, but that our true job is our faith and engagement with God (seeking, asking and knocking was the way He characterized it in yesterday's reading).  Above all things, there is our effort to engage with God, to desire that intimate relationship.  This is how we find the way.  This mystical reality requires active engagement on our part, a way of being awake via constantly seeking.  And then, there comes this warning:  to beware of false prophets.  Let us not look in the wrong direction!  Let us remember our own asking, seeking, and knocking and the power that has to find the way, to engage in the reality of God, to seek first this Kingdom -- and the way will be made known to us.  How do we avoid false prophets?  We will know them by their fruits.  Once again, Jesus is calling us not to be sleepwalking through life, but just the opposite:  we are not like the blind leading the blind -- we are called to wisdom, to understanding, and especially to alertness while we seek His way and engage in all the practices included in the metaphor of asking, seeking, and knocking -- of seeking first the Kingdom.  We would do well to remember that, as He sends out His apostles on their first mission, He says they must be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves."   This is the discernment, awareness, and active intelligence, alertness, that He asks of His servants and followers.  And finally, there is this warning:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  It's a reminder, begun in yesterday's reading at the beginning of chapter 7, that there is one Judge, and He is in our presence.  He's not just teaching, but He is also the place of real Judgment, a place we can't know of ourselves, someone we can't fool, who knows everything about us.  It's a reinforcement of discernment and alertness, reminding us to "keep it real" all the time, not to fool ourselves or be fooled by others -- to seek Him and His Kingdom first.