Why do You speak to them in parables?

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

 

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed, 

 Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

- Matthew 13:1–16 

 

We have presently been reading in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "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 the 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."  

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.    Today's lectionary reading jumps from chapter 7, in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, to chapter 13, in which Jesus is now surrounded by great multitudes who come to hear Him.  Over the course of the next few days, the lectionary readings prepare us for Ascension Day, which is Thursday in the West and the Armenian Apostolic Church, and a week later for the Eastern Orthodox.  On Friday, the day following the celebration of Christ's Ascension, we will resume the lectionary sequence in chapter 7 once again.  Here we are to note by this stage of Christ's ministry, His fame has reached a point that He must preach from a boat while great multitudes are gathered on the shore.  These are not just disciples, as in the Sermon on the Mount, but likely also the curious and those who come because of His reputation for healing as well.  

 

 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  My study Bible comments that, in the Old Testament, metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5, Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14).  These were a part of daily life, experienced by all people.  Here, Christ reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower in the earth, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible teaches that the mysteries of the kingdom are not simply obscure concepts or religious truths only for the elite, and  at the same time, neither is the understanding of Christ's parables merely an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find the message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, it notes, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

 

 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Here Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, this prophecy of Isaiah doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  What is meant by He has blinded, my study Bible explains, is that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They didn't become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  

 

At this point in His ministry, Jesus begins speaking in parables.  His reasoning is clear:  He wants to reach those who truly desire to hear and to see the things of which He speaks, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and not merely astonishing "earthly" miracles and healings or things which might fall into the category of magic (in people's perception) or unusual power.   He's here to bring His gospel into the world, not simply to practice astonishing feats to gather the curious or those who will follow Him in fear or other motivations which distract from real discipleship and faith.  So the parables form a kind of opening to those who are drawn to Him from the heart.  That is, from hearts that have not grown dull.  When Jesus quotes Isaiah, and speaks about ears that are hard of hearing, and eyes they have closed, He's speaking of spiritual eyes and ears, the attention of the soul and the heart -- that is the real depth of a person. To understand with their hearts and turn, is to repent.  That is, to turn toward Christ, "so that I should heal them."  If we understand these words in the context in which Christ has spoken them, we understand that this is the way He chooses to frame salvation, and the whole of the institution of the Church, as a kind of hospital in which we receive real healing, with Christ as Physician.  In Matthew 9:11-13, Jesus directly refers to Himself as divine Physician.  He says to the complaining Pharisees, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  This call Jesus speaks of is the call to turn toward Him, to practice repentance in the sense that all repentance is a turning toward Christ, to God.  In this understanding, the whole of the Incarnation and its purpose is for healing, to help us to turn toward God, to become more like God, in whose image and likeness we are created, our true nature.  St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes, "God became man so that man might become god" (On the Incarnation, 54:3).  This was written just prior to the Council of Nicea which formed our earliest Christian Creed, and in which St. Athanasius played such a decisive part.  Because of Christ's Incarnation, we may become more like God, growing in our true nature even toward an eternal union with God, and in this sense, everlasting life (John 3:16).  And with St. Athanasius and his guiding light, we come toward Christ's Ascension, which will be celebrated on Thursday in Western Church (and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and the Eastern Churches the following Thursday.  For in Christ's Ascension, He takes His humanity into heaven, showing us that our own human nature is capable through grace of doing the same.  This process of grace in us is called theosis, or divinization, and it is what our true salvation is all about, how Christ our Physician heals us through a lifetime process in which we constantly turn to Him throughout our lives.  He is the Sower who sows the seeds of salvation for us in His gospel, and as He teaches in this chapter of parables, these grow and shape and produce fruit, and  transform everything, so that even the angels can dwell with us and we are prepared to dwell with Him.  For without these mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, such healing doesn't exist.

 

 

 

 

He who has ears, let him hear!

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears, let him hear!"

 

- Matthew 13:1-9 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking with the scribes and Pharisees who demanded a sign from Him.  He said,  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."   But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears, let him hear!"  My study Bible comments here that, in the Old Testament, metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5; Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14), because this was part of daily life.  These are things with which all people were familiar.  Here, Jesus is revealing Himself as the promised Messiah, who is the sower in the earth, the One foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.

 

Here is a turning point in Christ's ministry, and we can see that it comes as He now speaks to great multitudes.   What is the direction of this "turning point?"  It's quite interesting that He begins speaking in parables.  That is, He's telling a story about His story, about His ministry, but it's up to those who hear to understand and receive what they can from this story, this parable.  Jesus says, "He who has ears, let him hear!" echoing warnings known to the people from the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 6:9-10; Ezekiel 3:27; Jeremiah 5:21; Deuteronomy 29:4).  If we follow closely the events of Christ's ministry, Jesus has just been responding to a demand from the scribes and Pharisees that He produce a miracle on demand, in order to prove His identity.  They have demanded a "sign" from Him (see Saturday's reading).  Before that, they accused Him of casting out demons (performing exorcism) by the power of the ruler of the demons (see Friday's reading).  So, after Jesus condemned this request, saying, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah," and claiming that others who come from outside Israel will rise in judgment against them, Jesus has responded not with trying to appease these religious rulers who now seek to destroy Him, but by doing the opposite.  He now expands His ministry to the great multitudes who come to listen, and He does so not through explicit signs or even teachings, but through the introduction of preaching in parables.  It is perhaps hint, in hindsight, that Christ already senses that His message, His gospel of the Kingdom, will be taken to peoples far and wide, and not simply to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Parables are described as "word-pictures" by my study Bible, stories which reveal spiritual truth.  But they do this in a way that is hidden, not obvious.  The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb," my study Bible says.  So, in listening to parables, people must be receptive to the hidden truths or mysteries that are revealed in them, in order to perceive what Christ is offering.  Hence, His command, "He who has ears, let him hear!"  Christ's seemingly paradoxical response to the demand for a sign by the scribes and Pharisees comes to us as an affirmation of our own need to truly desire what He offers, for He is not simply in the world to compel anyone to love Him, but to put out a call of love and faith, seeking those who can hear and respond.  We are used to being spoon-fed truths, so to speak, through platforms and international media.  But in a world of constantly competing information vying for our attention, Jesus still calls.  He remains the Sower, sowing the seeds of His gospel, and longs for those who will respond, and produce the fruits of the good harvest He desires. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father

 

 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

- Matthew 13:36-43 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught another parable to the crowds, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Another parable He spoke to them:  "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.  All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." 

 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Here Jesus is explaining the parable taught in Friday's reading, as the disciples request in private to "explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  It's important to understand that tares are a type of plant that resembles wheat, but is considered a weed that is indigestible for human beings.  This parable of the tares of the field is one Jesus told immediately following the parable of the Sower, and it builds upon that parable.  The attention here is focused on the enemy who has sown his seed among the seed of Christ.  My study Bible comments that, as falsehood came after truth and false prophets came after the true prophets, so the Antichrist will come after Christ.  In the similarity of the weeds (tares) and wheat, we see how lies, falsehoods, and half-truths can bear resemblance to truth.  Those who follow become sons of the wicked one through participation and living the life of the falsehoods, just as sons of the kingdom are those who live the life of His word.

Clearly, this parable of the "tares of the field" is a parable of judgment, and it expresses Christ's pronouncement and prophecy of a judgment to come.  We should remember that Jesus taught in the original parable that both wheat and tares should grow together, so as not to uproot any of the "good seed" -- and that both should grow together until the time of the harvest has come.  So, clearly, the harvest is the time of judgment, at the end of the age.  Many people today seemingly reject notions of judgment, but that's not what Christ is teaching here -- and He's being very clear about it.  One thing we can be certain of is that this time of the harvest (the time of judgment) will come at the end of this age.  We simply have idea when that is.  In fact, when questioned about it, Jesus refused to give fodder to speculate.  See Matthew 24:36-44.   The only things He did tell His disciples (and therefore the Church) is that "of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only," and that "the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  Moreover, what we can come to understand as well is that there seem to be two kinds of time in the picture that we're given of worldly life and heavenly life.  Here in this world, we follow a linear kind of experience of time.  But the time of the life after this one seems to be different, and so the rules about change and the experience of whatever that life is like are different.  Moreover, Christ has said that that next life offers a complete transformation of life.  When quizzed by the Sadducees regarding a woman married successively to seven brothers (Matthew 22:23-33), Jesus responded:  "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  So, from Christ's words, we may conclude that a complete transformation of life takes place, and also that time is experienced differently, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all live to God, although their lives did not overlap in worldly time.  We simply cannot calculate the complete understanding of what kind of changes these mean for us, nor how judgment is enacted considering such things.  What we do now is that what we choose in our worldly lives -- and whether or not we pay attention to Christ's words and seek to live by them -- does make a difference.  We're repeatedly told in different places in the Scriptures that our compassion and capacity for mercy makes a great deal of difference to our ultimate disposition and the judgment at the end of the age (for example, Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31).  From Christ's teaching today, we may conclude that we grow spiritually, in some sense, like plants grow -- and it depends upon the seeds from which we grow.  In the parable of the Sower, Jesus emphasized what kind of soil His word can take root in, and grow and produce spiritual fruits.  Here, to be either sons of the kingdom or sons of the wicked one depends on what we choose to grow upon and cultivate; without the seed of Christ, people commit things that offend, and practice lawlessness.  Ultimately these will result in judgment.  There is a clear distinguishing here between what is cast into the furnace of fire, and the righteous who shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  But of that time we don't know, and we are all given the time of our lives to repent, to turn around and follow Him.  Let us at least take this parable, and His certain warnings about judgment, seriously while we live in the world.  

How is it you do not understand?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."   And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" 

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

On Saturday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."   And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  Once again, has Jesus has returned to Jewish territory (in our recent readings, Jesus has spent much time evading the Pharisees as He was in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, and then the Greco-Roman culture of the Decapolis).  So, in today's reading, we again feel the influence and scrutiny of the Pharisees, whom Jesus had quite possibly been evading after His last dispute with them.  My study Bible comments that the leaven of the Pharisees to which Jesus refers is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it points out, "leaven" is used both positively and negatively.  A positive example is in the parable of the Leaven found in Matthew 13:33.  Most often, however, it is found as a negative image, as in this case.  But, either way, my study Bible says, leaven symbolizes a force which is powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  

We note how seemingly slow the disciples are to understand Jesus' language, and what He is driving at.  It's almost a comical scene, a sort of play on words, to see how Jesus is speaking of leaven as a metaphor for the Pharisees' subtle, permeating influence as they demand a sign, while the disciples are focused on the mundane matters of organizing this ever-moving ministry.  "It is because we have no bread," they reason among themselves.  "He must be upset because we have no bread!"  We can all picture ourselves in such circumstances:  while we're busy trying to organize and follow a plan, the one with the real vision is trying to tell us something much, much more significant.  Indeed, part of the somewhat comical nature of what we read here today is just simply that which follows in Jesus' perhaps incredulous reminder to them of the two (not just one, but two!) feedings in the wilderness which they've so recently experienced.  We notice how Jesus goes through it piece by piece, and step by step, to work them through remembering what they seem to fail to grasp here:  "When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  It's like they are children who really, really need to be led bit by bit into this lesson.  We can almost hear the plaintive note in Christ's question that follows:  "How is it you do not understand?"  While in a completely rational and quasi-perfect world, in which every experience would lead to a completely logical conclusion, this might seem a little much.  But in terms of the true experience of human beings and the way our minds tend to work, this does not at all sound unusual.  In fact, what the Gospels give us so frequently, as perfect teaching tool, is a mirror of the common things we all do and experience, and even the difficulties of grasping the truly extraordinary nature of our faith. For, at heart, really, is not so much the miraculous nature of the feedings which Christ has given with meager resources to multiply, and through which we're given an early glimpse of the Eucharist, and so much more.  Rather, the depth of the matter here is the almost unbelievable concept that God became human, that the Man they know as Jesus, as their Teacher, is also divine.  How can our minds grasp this, really?  We might know it as an intellectual concept, as a given tenet of the faith, but in terms of really getting a hold of just how contradictory the concept is, it would in truth be hard to underestimate this reconciliation of impossible antithetical things in one Person.  And that is really the ever-continuing drama of our faith in the world.  It remains with us as the "stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks" in St. Pauls' words (1 Corinthians 1:23).  It's not just the Crucifixion that gives us this stumbling block and foolishness, but the whole of the almost stupefyingly difficult concept of the 'irreconcilable reconciled' in Christ Himself -- that God became human. No matter what the disciples have truly experienced in their day-to-day, hands on, time-bound material experience of life with Jesus, they still have not been able to process this extraordinary but nonetheless true picture of the reality which God has offered us in the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ.  It is the very thing at the heart of every struggle we might have with our faith, no matter what it is.  The disciples themselves passed out the bread to thousands of people from a handful of loaves, twice.  And yet, they still do not have the eyes to see nor the ears to hear the true message here:  that the things they think they know of their faith, the reality the Pharisees would present to them undermining the ministry of Christ by demanding a convincing sign,  is a kind of poisonous influence, and one that seeks to take away the gift of Christ's true reality presented to the world.  It is similar to Christ's response to St. Peter, when he cannot accept the message of the Crucifixion, later in this chapter.  Jesus' response is, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Mark 8:33). It is perhaps more dramatic, but yet another instance where it is the divinity of Christ that is the stumbling block, for it is only in that understanding that we know the Crucifixion will serve as the trampling of death by death.  Here, Jesus refers to the leaven of the Pharisees, the doubtful, insidious chipping away at our capacity for grasping the things of God, the gifts inherent in the paradox of Jesus and His ministry.  Jesus asks, seemingly bewildered, "How is it you do not understand?"  It is as if we hear God asking, how He could do so much to show us, His creatures,  God's reality, and yet we still don't get it.  But it is a question we always need to ponder for ourselves, for so often we lose sight of the importance of this noetic capability within ourselves -- the place of spiritual eyes and ears -- and the need to strengthen our capacity for faith through the practices we inherit from our traditions:  prayer, worship, liturgy, the saints, the angels, and the whole reality of God within Whom "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).  How could Jesus multiply loaves and fish to feed a multitude two times?  How can God become human?  How do we understand the paradox of faith?  This is where we start and where we finish, and it is the place to which we always return.  It is the place where we need to come to find Him, and even paradoxically, to truly find ourselves, the Alpha and Omega of life. 

 

 

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand

 

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear . . . "

 

- Matthew 13:1-16 

 

We have been recently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 -7).  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught:  "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the  way that leads into destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, 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."   

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Today the lectionary skips forward in Matthew's Gospel, from chapter 7 to chapter 13, in which Jesus will begin teaching in parables.  We note that by now there are great multitudes who are coming to see Him; this has a great deal to do with why He begins to speak in parables.  

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   This is Jesus' first parable that works as a kind of foundation for the rest of them.  My study Bible explains that in the Old Testament, metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5, Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14), as this was a part of daily life.  In this parable, Jesus reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower in the earth, who had been prophesied in Isaiah 55:10-13.

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."  Here Jesus begins to reveal to the disciples the purpose of speaking in parables.  My study Bible explains that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts or some religious truths which are only for the elite, nor is the understanding of the parables just an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find this message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, my study Bible says that it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, snd seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear . . . "  The quotation is from Isaiah 6:10.  This quotation also appears in John 12:37-41, in the context of those many who gathered to Christ for His signs, but had no faith.  Here, as Jesus speaks to such a great multitude that He must sit in a boat off the shore, His parables are also aimed toward those who will hear and develop faith, out of the multitudes who will not.  My study Bible notes that according to St. John Chrysostom, the prophecy of Isaiah quoted here does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, revealing God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).    What is meant by He has blinded, my study Bible explains, is that God has permitted people's self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  People did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah; it is Isaiah who gave his prophesy because he foresaw their blindness. 

As we have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7; beginning with this reading from May 9), Jesus has been speaking to His disciples.  That is, He has been addressing His sermon to those who would be His followers, speaking of the particular type of blessedness that belongs to this Kingdom, to those who have faith in Him, teaching His gospel message.  He has been teaching us what it means to be a disciple, to engage in discipleship, to follow Him.   But in today's reading, we skip to chapter 13, where the parables begin, and the lectionary will be giving us these parables in preparation for Ascension Day (which, generally speaking, for the West is Thursday this week, and for the Eastern Churches  falls on Thursday next week).  In tomorrow's reading, we'll receive Jesus' explanation of this foundational parable which He gives to His disciples.  But for today, let us consider what He teaches them here, in response to their question about why He has chosen to begin to speak in parables.  For us today, it remains an important concern to understand why it is that membership in our churches seems to fluctuate so.  Popular ideas in the West have long followed a trend toward a belief in a very materialist-oriented perspective on life.  A false understanding of science seems to imply that we must only trust in what has been proven to us scientifically, but nevertheless there are those who seem to adopt this attitude.  (All science is based on hypothesis; if scientists only accepted that existence was limited to what had already been proven, there would be no science at all; nor would there be constant new discoveries which, in fact, render mistaken what had been previously understood to have been proven.)   In some sense, this "misdirection" of perception, or failure to grasp the mysteries of which Christ speaks, remains entirely pertinent to what we're being taught in the quotation of the prophesy of Isaiah.  Jesus gives us a hint about the failure to hear and see the things He is offering, the lack of perception of the value in the things He teaches.  Although Israel, and particularly its leadership contemporaneous with Christ, is steeped in preparation for the Messiah, in scholarship on the Old Testament, together with tremendous resources from the Second Temple period which was rich in possibility to accept Christ as divine, there are those who cannot nor will not see and hear what He is offering, with faith.  Jesus has spoken of the hypocrisy which keeps us from faith during His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, for which He will repeatedly indict the religious leadership.  There is the aspect of life lived purely for show, for the praise of other people, which He repeatedly mentions in this context -- and we can surely see at least some of this pattern reflected in a world which now bases so much of its common social exchange on consumed image through social media, or identity which seems to rest solely on how it is reflected back to us through the eyes of others.  It seems common today that there are so many who do not see and do not hear these realities of which Christ speaks, the blessedness of God and mysteries of God's kingdom.  Faith asks us for a perception that comes from a deeper place within ourselves, something subtle, but also essential to identity which is hidden from those without this capacity for perception.  From this perspective, it seems there is something missing from the development which enables us to participate in mystery and to receive what mystery offers us as part of identity and personal growth.  Just as Jesus taught us to rebuke hypocrisy by praying in secret to our Father who is in the secret place and who sees in secret (and to do likewise with practices of almsgiving and fasting), so we must come to understand that a life lived entirely with a consumerist orientation is going to miss out on what is to be grasped from within, in a secret place, even with no one else watching or seeing.  There are things which cannot be apprehended simply by consuming or absorbing what is outside of us or around ourselves.  This is what the parables point to:  images hidden within the story, which feed us something more than the easy fare of spectacle.  That is, things which engage us in a deeper way than the narcissistic drive for competing image or comparing ourselves to others, something other than the tremendous focus only on what appears to us in a material way.  There is a deeper place where life is for us, where we understand that who we are comes in relationship to God and to the righteous way of life to which God calls us in our relations to others, regardless of social demands.  If we think about it, this is part of the reason why the poor (or the poor in spirit) are always dear to God, for their perception is not based solely on what they possess materially.  We start there, in this parable of the Sower, to build an awareness of what this means and what it offers, who the Sower is, and how important it is that we find this way to perceive what is of true value and gives value to all else.  As Jesus teaches, there is a law to this type of awareness, and the kind of abundance He offers:  "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   In Jesus' final statement in today's reading, it is as if we are given another Beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount, and another lesson about what it means to live a blessed life:  "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear . . ."

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 

 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, 

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

- Matthew 13:10-17 

 

Yesterday we read that on the same day on which Jesus' mother and brothers came seeking to see Him, He went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

  And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible comments that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts, or some religious truths for only the elite, nor is the understanding of the parables simply an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find this message hard to understand.  Even though Jesus taught the same message to all, my study Bible says, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:   'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"   In John's Gospel, Jesus uses this same quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10 in speaking to those who have rejected faith in Him despite His many signs (see John 12:37-43).  In either case, we should turn to the understanding of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Isaiah's prophecy does not mean God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  Rather, this is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, revealing God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).   God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke as he foresaw their blindness.  

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  The prophets and righteous men of the past desired to see the day of Christ, and did not see it, and to hear His word but did not hear it.

Jesus quotes from Isaiah, who says, "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  This prophecy, as quoted by Jesus, really prompts us to ask the question, "What does it mean to be healed?"  It's very important that we understand healing in this context of spiritual guidance and perception.  Jesus has already suggested that one name for Himself is Physician, as in His response to the Pharisees who criticized Him for eating and dining with tax collectors and others who were understood to be sinners.  He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (see this reading).  Clearly it is spiritual ailments to which He's referring.  In this context, since all of us are deficient in some sense, each one of us has healing that we need.  That is, we might sin, knowingly and unknowingly, but even in terms of understanding sin, we "miss the mark" we're capable of making.  "Missing the mark" is the true literal meaning of the word for sin in the Greek.  It comes from the notion of hitting a target.   It indicates what we could do better; that of which we are capable but don't quite come up to a standard.  But what is most important is that we understand Jesus' language of caring for a person, of both healing and being a Physician.  For while we might understand perfectly well what physical ailments are, and even psychological ailments, we don't necessarily conceive of spiritual ailments as this language asks us to do.  In this context, and in the words of Isaiah, our own blindness and deafness leaves us blind and deaf to the things we need that we don't perceive, to the things we need for healing, to our own ailments and illnesses in some sense.  While we might understand a failure to function physically or mentally in a healthy way by a set of community standards, the text makes it clear that spiritual ailments may be those things we fail to detect or understand in ourselves.  One example of  a spiritual ailment might be extreme selfishness, or possibly a great lust or covetousness.  These things do lead to disorders in the society, but are clearly often characterized by a kind of blindness to what could be, a deafness to that which would create better relatedness in community and peace within ourselves.  Jesus embodies also for us a love and mercy that gives us a standard -- and in this sense also offers healing, but our eyes and ears need to be opened to this.  The spiritually deaf and blind may find it perfectly acceptable to practice hypocrisy and hidden vice which harms and hurts both themselves and others, and fail to find God's way for their own healing in this respect.  What is clear is that through the parables, Jesus begins to ask His listeners whether or not they truly want what He's offering.  As human beings, we're given a sense that it is really up to us to desire what He has, and deeply and earnestly seek it.  Otherwise our lives, as St. Chrysostom comments, are left to our own devices, and the messes and brokenness we create as a result become a part of a fabric of our own legacies and the lives around us.  There is a clear understanding here that we are capable of hearing, seeing, and seeking what He offers, but there must be a desire in our hearts to do so.  As we discussed in yesterday's reading, it's simply false to assume that what we are is written in stone, so to speak, static and unchanging or incapable of change.  That is a spiritual falsehood, and He calls us to truth, to growth, to fruitfulness.  That is what it means to be healed.  Physical ailments or harm, and emotional and mental hardships, quite clearly contribute to the challenges we have in our lives.  But a great deal of healing from either one may also be spiritual in nature, with God's help putting our lives and even tragedies and brokenness in perspective, even and possibly most especially creating new life where we might find limitation.  Healing, in Christ's language, is an ongoing process and encompasses all of ourselves and our lives, for His is the deepest and truest response to all that ails us. 

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand

Prophet Isaiah.  Copy of 14th cent. icon, Monastery of Dionysiou,  Mt Athos.  The scroll he is holding is open to Isaiah 6:1

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

- Matthew 13:10-17

Yesterday we read that on the same day that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (after He was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons - see readings beginning on Friday), He went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."  My study bible explains that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts or some religious truths that exist only for the elite.  Neither is the understanding of these parable a purely intellectual process.  As we can read, even the disciples find the message obscure and hard to understand.  Jesus taught the same message to all, my study bible says, but it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  Here, Jesus clearly indicates a kind of process ongoing, where those who are open to receive the treasures in His word are on a kind of journey where they will receive more.  But those whose hearts and minds are not open to the spiritual message of the Kingdom will be depleted of such treasure.

"And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"   Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who reflects that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise be faithful.  This is a familiar type of speech in Scripture which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  As the heart is far from God, God permits a self-chosen deafness and blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Once again, Jesus emphasizes the blessedness of those for whom the realities of the spiritual life He offers are present and perceived.  He contrasts those disciples drawn to what He offers with the many prophets and righteous men who desired the same -- and neither saw nor heard what they do.

Throughout Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has couched His ministry in terms of healing.  His mighty "great works" done in various cities have been, for the most part, works of healing.  That would include physical healing as well as exorcisms, the casting out of demons causing affliction of various sorts.  He explicitly called Himself a Physician when referring to the spiritual ailments of sin, when He was criticized by the Pharisees for associating with tax collectors, notorious and scandalous for the Jews.  At that time Jesus said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13; see this reading).   Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6, also a passage related to the themes in today's readings, as the full passage reads: "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  In today's reading from Matthew, Jesus connects this mysterious knowledge of God with healing, through the words of the Prophet Isaiah.   Jesus explains to His disciples His reason for speaking in parables, through the prophecy of Isaiah.  As the hearts of many are far away from God, so they will be left to their spiritual blindness and deafness, and therefore they will not be healed.  What He offers -- these mysteries and blessings of which Jesus speaks in today's reading -- is a healing balm of grace for all.  Spiritual suffering, this deafness and blindness, is something very real, something acute.  It is a spiritual ailment and depletion of what the soul needs.  Jesus speaks the words of the prophecy of Isaiah, which only serve to emphasize and frame His ministry within this paradigm or image of healing, with Christ as Physician.  Hosea's "knowledge of God" becomes Christ's words to His disciples regarding the mysteries and blessings of the kingdom of heaven, which are also couched in the Beatitudes of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  These mysteries and blessings are the very things for an ailing humanity.  They are the medicine that we need, and the Church herself must serve as hospital.  But there is a very important lesson here that must not be lost on any of us.  Those who truly don't desire this healing, whose spiritual eyes and ears are closed off through a "hardness of heart" which does not want to hear and see, are left to such a choice.   Christ speaks in parables in a sense similar to the understanding that God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (5:45).  While the explanation in private to His disciples is for those who have a true desire to understand, the parables nevertheless are given to all, so that this ministry is open to anyone who truly desires what God -- through Christ the Son Incarnate -- has to offer to a world deeply in need of healing on all levels.  So how about your spiritual eyes and ears?   What healing do you need today?  Is there a mystery, a blessing of God that you need to heal you spiritually, that your soul needs to know?  Seek it in prayer, read the Scripture, find those who offer sustenance and who also seek what you know is treasure.  Let us be truly grateful, even if the whole world does not care for what there is on offer.  The one who needs healing remains blessed simply to be aware of their true need.

How is it you do not understand?

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." 

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  After the previous confrontation with them, the Pharisees watch Jesus ever more closely.  They begin to demand a sign from heaven.  This is in order to test Him.  It means they demand a spectacular display of power, to prove He is the Messiah.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews, my study bible tells us, was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But these hypocrites, although they watch Jesus' every move to test Him, haven't recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened; they ignored the works happening all around them. 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  My study bible notes that in Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven (or yeast) symbolizes a force powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect all that is around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."   Jesus leads the blind man out of the town to heal him, my study bible says, because the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  This is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  We also have other examples of Jesus' healing in which He separated those who needed their faith to heal from those who ridicule, such as the healing of Jairus' daughter (in this reading).  That this blind man is healed in stages shows that he had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith, a note reads.  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  Jesus' command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return back to our sins once forgiven.  It also tells us of the importance of keeping our faith strong, and taking all measures to do so.

Important elements in today's reading all tell us about the nature and essential quality of faith.  Faith will determine all that is revealed by and received from Christ.  We note first of all that the Pharisees seek to test Jesus; their motives are to deny His divinity.  They demand a sign in order to test Him or to make Him prove His identity.  But this isn't going to work; they can't see what He is already doing, has already done.  They don't recognize the signs that accompany His ministry.  The disciples, too, have an issue with a lack of faith.  They apparently can't see the feeding miracles as the great signs that they are.  The text tells us that they fail to understand Jesus when He warns them about the "leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," referring to a kind of determined blind skepticism that continually demands proofs of God's presence, when holy power has clearly been at work in their midst.  Instead, their minds are elsewhere; they think He's chastising them for forgetting to bring bread for their journey.  Jesus Himself seems to be stunned that they can't understand what He's just said to them.  Don't they remember when He fed 5,000 in the wilderness?  Or that second occasion on which He fed 4,000 from a few loaves?  How can they possibly think He's upset that they didn't bring enough bread with them?  "How is it you do not understand?" Jesus asks.   Finally, we come to the blind man, who must be taken out of his environment for this healing to work.  Even so, sight comes in stages.  And when his sight is returned, Jesus warns him neither to go back to the town nor tell anyone there of this great healing and blessing.  So important is the influence we allow ourselves that Christ warns him so that he may keep his sight.  What we read throughout each episode contained in today's reading is Jesus' admonition that faith isn't something to take lightly, nor is it something to test.  We take it seriously, and we need to be awake and alert to that which may threaten the state of our faith.  We don't seek out clashes and testing and confrontation in terms of proving or testing our faith.  Instead, we're to be sober in our approach, awake and alert to the importance of our state of being and our state of mind.  Humility is the key here, because it is in humility that we remember the power of God in our lives.  It is in humility that we accept our own weakness, and our need for support and strength in our faith.  It is in humility that we accept that we are vulnerable to be misled.  It is in humility that we accept that we always need enlightenment, the sight that Christ offers us.  It is in humility that we accept that there are times when we simply need to move on to an environment that better suits our healing and wholeness rather than remain in what is familiar to us.  All of these elements combine in today's reading.  Lent is a time when we withdraw a little and cut back on the usual things that occupy us, entertain us, consume us.  We let go of our surroundings a little and seek to detach, to refocus on what's important.  The idea is that rather than lose ourselves in what we normally enjoy or pursue, we take time out for a little clear-eyed assessment, sober living, a look at our own reality.  Even the apostles teach us what preoccupation with worldly life and daily cares can cause us to miss; their minds are far away from the things Jesus wants them to understand.  To become totally immersed in the daily struggles of life, the things everybody else might think or talk about, the seemingly urgent issues of the day, is likened to a kind of drunkenness or stupor, a forgetfulness of the things we need to be alert to.  Like the blind man, we need to allow Christ to direct our thoughts and concerns at times, so that we can see as He desires us to see -- and detach ourselves from what misleads us away from health and wholeness.  Our true well-being depends upon it. 

To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

 Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." 

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade." 

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

- Mark 4:21-34

Yesterday we read that Jesus again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came d devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And he said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.'"  And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

  Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   Jesus calls for attentive listening, and He calls our attention to a kind of give-and-take between listener and hearer.  Using images He also drew upon for the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14-16), Jesus compares the word to light, and the nature of light.  What is hidden will be revealed; what is secret will come to light.  But careful listening is part of the secret to perception of this light:  how we listen will determine the wisdom we are capable of hearing.  The failure to put effort into listening will result in a loss of even what we think we have.  How much do we value this?  How much do we care?  Mark the Ascetic writes, "Do the good you know, and what you do not know will be revealed to you."

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  My study bible tells us that this parable is found only in Mark.   It says that the kingdom refers to the whole span of God's dispensation or plan of salvation.  The man is Christ, and the seed the gospel.  That the man will sleep indicates Jesus' death, from which He will rise.  That he does not know how the seed grows shows that Christ does not manipulate human beings' response to the gospel, but rather each person is free to receive it and to let it grow in his own heart.  The harvest gives us a picture of the Second Coming, when all are judged upon their reception of the gospel. 

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."    One interpretation of the mustard seed is that it represent the disciples.  According to Theophylact, they began as just a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."   It also stands for faith entering the soul of a person, causing an inward growth of virtue.  My study bible says that this soul will become godlike and can receive even angels (the birds of the air).  Whatever way we see it, it gives us a picture of the explosive power of the word, the "light" offered by Christ, and its work (although seemingly tiny and hidden for a time) in us, in our lives, in the world.

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.  My study bible says that to unbelievers, the parables remain bewildering.  But to those with simple faith, these stories which use common images reveal truth in ways they can grasp, as they were able.

Why does Jesus speak in parables?  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed His growing fame, the huge crowds, the panic of His family, the hostility of the leadership.  There also seems to be, paradoxically, a need for secrecy and hiddenness as His fame grows.  The "unclean spirits" recognize who He is, and they call Him the Son of God (see Monday's reading).  But Jesus commands them to silence; the Messianic reality and His divine identity are things He does not want revealed to those who cannot accept through faith.  Or rather, He wants people to come to this knowledge through faith -- hence, we begin to understand the need for speaking in parables.  In today's reading Jesus says,  "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given."  And He adds a kind of warning:  " For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   Jesus' ministry is not a one-way kind of preaching.  It's a give-and-take, it's communication, communion.  We are engaged, in relationship.  He doesn't just give.  He's looking for those who will give their attention and effort.  This is a two-way street.  With the same measure we use, it will be measured to us.  It's like a conversation, a two-way exchange between giver and receiver -- only here, both give and both receive, even though we're speaking of Creator and creation.  Jesus asks for us to be engaged with Him and He with us, and we all with one another in His name.  We're not simply spoon-fed what we need to know.  Instead, we're to be eager participants, active in listening and engaging.  This is how we get where we want to go.  Jesus' use of parables indicates that He wants His listeners to be anything but passive.  On the contrary, it is our desire for what He offers that motivates our reception; the energy we use in seeking Him is reciprocated back to us.  It's movement and action at work in this ministry, and the seed grows in the good soil that truly desires and seeks it.  Activated by our own acceptance and desire, the word grows into what seems impossible from such a tiny beginning, to house and give rest and shelter even to the birds of the air.  All this activity takes place under the radar of those who don't get it, don't care, don't value, and don't desire what He offers.  We need to pay attention.  This is the way it works for Him and the way it works for us today.  How do we listen and receive?  Do we care?  Are we engaged in this really?  Let us consider what we put our minds and hearts to, how we use the ears we're given.  Do we want His light?   He's telling us it's there if we but seek it, and truly desire what it offers.