No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?   Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

In our previous reading, we were told that about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answer1ed them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  My study Bible explains that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  At this ceremony was the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, giving us the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water, as St. John's text indicates, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, my study Bible notes, and the new life that accompanies this gift.  

 

 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   The Prophet, my study Bible says, refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior to come foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem, the home of King David, was the town from which the Christ (the Messiah was expected to come (see Micah 5:2). 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Earlier in the chapter, we read that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the feast (John 7:32).  But by now it is the last day of the feast (the eighth day), and no arrest has been made.  This is because, according to my study Bible, these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, by contrast, who could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's mind is open, St. Chrysostom says, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  This is the same Nicodemus (also a Pharisee) who had spoken with Jesus by night, accepting teaching (John 3:1-21), and in the intervening time had increased in faith.  However, my study Bible notes that his defense of Christ is still based on our law and hence this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  In accordance with the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).   The Pharisees claim that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, but in this, my study Bible says, they show at once their blind hatred and their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah was from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher, only three miles from Jesus' home in the town of Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).

The temple officers explain their failure to arrest Jesus with the vehement statement to the rulers,  "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Once more, it is now Christ's words that make such a difference to people, even these officers who are not those learned in the Scripture like the Pharisees and scribes.  St. John Chrysostom's words come back to us, reminding us of the impact of truth on an open mind (and conversely, the complete lack of impact truth may make on a closed and prejudiced one).  But this emphasis on the remarkable power of Christ's words is one that we have heard emphasized before in St. John's Gospel.  In St. Peter's confession of faith, he first prefaces by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (see John 6:67-69).  Now we read a stunning statement by those who are not disciples, but are instead temple police, sent to arrest Jesus as if He were a criminal.  So the text is clear in showing us that the power of Christ's words is not understood merely from an intellectual appreciation of them, or from first knowing Scripture, but there is another component within us that responds to His "words of eternal life."  All of the rest, as St. Chrysostom's commentary indicates, is of little use when a mind is closed to begin with.  Certainly those among the most well-trained and educated minds of the past have formed the Church and its theology, which is made very clear through the lives of the early saints of the Church.  For the early patristic scholars, coming out of a pagan civilization, and themselves enriched through classical education in philosophy, literature, and all other subjects available to them, if our Lord was the Person who is Truth (see John 14:6), then whatever serves truth may be honored as serving Christ (truth, beauty, and goodness being hallmarks of the Divine).  So in such cases, the brilliant minds of past and present whose intelligence and education contributed to our understanding of Christ did so only where faith was also present.    We see the difference between Nicodemus and nearly all of his fellow Pharisees; it is Nicodemus who is also growing in faith, and will come to an even greater dedication to Christ by the time of His Passion and death.  It is under faith, then, that our talents, skills, experience, and education are organized within one principle, to serve the Lord.  God will take all of the differentiated aspects of our lives and personal formation, and use those skills and talents to God's purposes.  This we can see in the countless examples of saints from all countries and backgrounds, of every century, whose work is always surprising and impactful on the lives of those around them.  These policemen are similar to the centurion who will oversee Christ's Crucifixion, in that they come to faith and insight through their openness to faith and the truth of Christ, even though they are loyal to the ones who sent them.  Through the faithful action of Cornelius the Centurion, the impact upon the world is incalculable (Acts 10 - 11:18).   In consideration of these things, let us consider how essential to life is our faith, and what potential impact it can have around us in shaping our lives and actions.  We may consider the learning of skills, development of talents, gaining of an education, and all other forms of development to be the most important and decisive elements of our flowering as persons.  But what the Gospels seem to teach us is that so much depends on our ability to truly hear and know the things of God.  Jesus Himself often proclaims in His preaching, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8; 14:35).  A heart open to the words He teaches us is one capable of grasping the truth in the words, and this is the powerful teaching couched in today's reading.   The people at the festival echo like a Greek chorus all the possible understandings and interpretations of Christ's words and acts, but they are unknowing, confused, and they reflect a time in Israel of great uncertainty.  But those who can hear are stunned by His words, magnetic in their appeal to their hearts.  Let us understand the reality of truth, and the challenge to hear even in the confusion and uncertainty of today. 

 

 

 

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening

 

Transfiguration Icon, late 16th century - St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

 

- Luke 9:28-36 

 

On Wednesday we read that, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, 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.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

  Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  The first hint we have that something very important is happening here is the reference to eight days.  Eight is an important number, and since this is in the context of days, it gives us another important reference.  At the Feast of Tabernacles (which makes its appearance in another reference further along in today's reading), the eighth day was the last, great day of the feast (John 7:37).  This was also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and so here we have a hint about what is manifesting for these apostles on the mountain.  In Christian tradition, and specifically because of the Resurrection, Sunday is known not only as the first day of the week for our worship, but it is also called the "eighth day," which my study Bible says symbolizes eternity, a day without end.  If seven is a number of completeness, eight is that step beyond.  To go up on the mountain is symbolic of a holy place, a place closer to God.

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  Here we begin to understand something truly special is happening, for this is the story of what is called the Transfiguration, a major feast day in the Church.  This alteration of Christ's face, and particularly the white and glistening quality of His entire appearance, makes this moment a theophany.  Theophany means a manifestation of God, and in particular here, what is revealed is a display of Christ's uncreated, divine energy.  Because God is light (1 John 1:5), there are several elements which combine in the reading to convey that Jesus is God.  Here, in particular, the white and glistening quality of the light emanating from Christ's person.  Matthew reports that Christ's face "shone like the sun" (Matthew 17:2).  In some icons of the Transfiguration, this light is shown as beyond white, a bluish-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.  In Greek, the word for transfiguration is metamorphosis/μεταμορφωσις.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.   My study Bible says that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- since he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  My study Bible comments that their presence here shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  Moreover, it is noted here that what is translated as Christ's decease is in Greek exodus/ἔξοδος, which literally means "departure."  My study Bible adds that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, as Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  This term, exodus, reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover and is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  Also, it adds, that this revelation of divine power also confirms Christ's upcoming death was not imposed on Him by outside forces, but was a voluntary offering of love, as no arresting soldier could have withstood such glory if He had not consented (Matthew 26:53).

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  My study Bible notes the words of an Orthodox festal hymn of the Transfiguration:  "Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could bear it, so that when they saw You crucified, they would understand that Your suffering was voluntary."

 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. Here is another reference to the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, in which the time Israel wandered toward the Promised Land and dwelt in tents, or tabernacles was commemorated.  My study Bible says that Peter sees what is happening as a sign that the Kingdom has come, and in this sense, he asks to build booths as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Some also suggest that Peter knows he is witnessing what might be called a "divine council" meeting, and so the presence of the gathering tents is a natural association for his time and place.  Additionally, the presence of Moses and Elijah here manifest the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable and they talk with the Lord.  Now, my study Bible says, the disciples are able to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" (Matthew 17:2) referring to John the Baptist.  It notes that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.  Finally, what truly makes this event a theophany is the manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  Christ is transfigured, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship here, and the Holy Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, overshadowing the whole mountain. 

When we think of the Transfiguration, we think of this dazzling white light.  To remind us, my study Bible says it is beyond white, symbolizing its divine, heavenly origin.  White light might be something to ponder, because when we think of earthly white light, we get an interesting phenomenon.  Truly white light is in some sense "misleading."  This is because while the color white in a material sense may reflect the absence of all color as in a bleached garment, reflected light is different.  White light is actually composed of every color in the spectrum, while darkness is the absence of light.  So if we consider that Christ is here reflecting not simply "all things" in the spectrum of worldly light, but even more beyond that, heavenly light in origin, then we truly have the Christ.  That is, another manifestation here of the Incarnation, both divine and human (that is, both divine in origin and also earthly in origin).  So we could think of the Transfiguration as completing this revelation of Christ's identity also in this dual sense of the light.  Moreover, if white light reflects a whole spectrum of worldly light, then Christ's transfiguring "beyond white" divine light transfigures all of our worldly realities and experiences, and that is what He -- in the Incarnation -- is also here to bring to us.  It is even what He will bring to His Passion and Crucifixion, transfiguring the Cross with the same light so that it becomes the symbol of salvation and Resurrection that we know.  In this sense, the Cross is the truly transfiguring symbol we have, for it tells us that all things, and even death, are transfigured in Christ and in the power of Christ, and this transfiguring power is offered to each of us.  If we can think of that in this sense when we read Christ's words that we are to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), then we will understand more clearly the power that is conveyed in that cross, for we are meant also to be transfigured as followers of Christ, as participants in God's grace and Kingdom, even as we live through whatever struggles and experiences we have in this world.  The icon above is from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai, home to what is considered the Burning Bush in Moses' vision (Exodus 3).  If we remember that for the ancient world, fire was the source of light besides the sun, we begin to perceive the ties between the Burning Bush of Moses, and the Mount of Transfiguration.  The energies of God are present in both places, both on the holy mountain, and both with Moses as witness to the testimony of God, to theophany in both Old and New Testaments.  Let us consider the mystery, the fullness of revelation, and the Resurrection to come in this light.

 

 

 

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  

 

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

Yesterday we read that, about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes,  no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  My study Bible explains that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  We recall that this is Christ's final year in His earthly life, and the season is autumn.  On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, there is the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar.  This serves both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  So it is in this context that Jesus Himself "draws" upon the Old Testament imagery for a new revelation about Himself and His ministry (and fulfillment of that promise imaged in the flowing water from the rock):  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  The living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life that accompanies this gift.  

 

 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Again, the Evangelist gives us the dissension and discussion among the people regarding Jesus.  The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior whom Moses foretold would come in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem was the town from which the Christ was prophesied to come (Micah 5:2).  We recall from yesterday's reading (above) that the people believe Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee, where He was raised, but He was born in Bethlehem, where David was.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."   Earlier, we recall, the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by the time of this last day which we're given in today's reading, no arrest had yet been made.  My study Bible explains that this is because these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  The Pharisees and the scribes, who, according to St. Chrysostom (as quoted by my study Bible), had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the other hand, although they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leadership, were "captivated by a single sermon."   When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

 

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus by night (see John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and so this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  My study Bible comments that according to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  In their statement that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, the Pharisees show what my study Bible calls their blind hatred and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher -- only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

In today's reading, Jesus proclaims:  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  What Jesus is talking about, my study Bible says, is the coming of the Holy Spirit, which will be made possible through His sacrifice on the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension.  Let us take this image of "rivers of living water."  "Living water" is an image that has appeared earlier in John's Gospel, in the story of the women of Samaria at Jacob's well, found in John 4:1-42.  In that reading, Jesus asked the woman for a drink.  When she is stunned that a Jewish man spoke and asked her for water, He tells her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  "Living water," as explained by my study Bible, is a term which, in the ordinary sense, means fresh, flowing water.  That is, from a stream or spring, as opposed to a pond or cistern.  So this action of flowing water gives us the sense of "living," bringing up a sense of movement, of action, such as found, for instance, in enzymatic properties.  There is a dynamism involved.  This notion of energy (as in the enzymes that turn grapes and water into wine, or that leavens a whole lump of dough) is one that is central to Orthodox theology and our understanding of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.  For Christ's ministry will make it possible for the Holy Spirit to come into the world, to be a part of Christian baptism (John 3:5-8), to bring Christ's sayings to our recollection (John 14:26), to help us to give good testimony (Luke 12:11-12), and to help us to bear much fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).   This "living" imagery is important to help us to understand grace as the "energies" of God.  In it, we are to understand that while we cannot know nor see nor grasp God in God's substance or essence, we are given God's energies, in the action and work of the Holy Spirit in our world.  The traditional image given in patristic understanding is that of metal thrust into fire:  it does not become fire, but it can take on properties of the fire such as heat.  And this is where Christ's imagery in today's reading -- of the rivers of living water which flow out of the heart of a person -- is so important.  These rivers of living water give us the unceasing, almost torrential-seeming power of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, in our hearts, and the challenge that creates for faith.  Because we are meant to meet all the realities of this world in faith, and these "rivers of living water" are present to assist us in meeting life when we do.  How else to explain the grace with which saints have met injustice in the world?  How else do we understand the capacity of God to work through human beings to create good, even out of circumstances that are evil?  How do we take hardship in our lives, and yet retain the capacity to create beauty where we can, to add kindness even where it hasn't been received?  To give comfort in harsh circumstances, or even a beautiful garden in a small plot, and so give beauty as we can?  These are the realities of the "rivers of living water" given by the Holy Spirit, given not as the world gives, but from a Source that is unending and without beginning, that lives in us and through faith, that does not depend on a world in short supply to bring out an always creative capacity for doing good.  Let us consider how much rests on His words and teachings, and what a difference they have made in the lives of all.  What a difference they can continue to make through us, and into the future.  For what do you thirst?  For what does the world thirst?

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

In our current readings, the events take place in what is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Jesus has gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see Wednesday's reading).  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  This last day, the great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day was the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  This was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water which flowed from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  This commemoration is the backdrop for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."   This living water of which Christ speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (see the prophecy of Micah 5:2).   The people know Jesus as one whose family is from Nazareth in Galilee; what they don't know is that He was born in Bethlehem, and, in worldly terms, of the lineage of David (see Luke 2:1-7).  

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  The chief priests had earlier sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by this time, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  My study Bible comments that the reason for this is these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching ("No one ever spoke like this Man!").  The Pharisees and the scribes, according to St. John Chrysostom, as quoted by my study Bible, who had "witnessed and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  The officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus, as reported earlier in the Gospel (John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith since that time.  But, my study Bible notes, his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).   According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees who dispute with Nicodemus (who is also a Pharisee) declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  But my study Bible says that in so doing, they show their blind hatred and also ignorance of the Scriptures, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

The temple officers declare to the religious leaders, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" and indeed this is true.  No one ever spoke like Jesus.  We recall that it is the words of Christ which also keep His core disciples with Him, while many went away because of the "difficult" saying in the teaching regarding His flesh and blood.  At that time, Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  St. Peter replied to Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Moreover, Jesus taught Himself, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  Therefore we see in action in today's reading these words of spirit and life, and their impact on the temple officers, who are unable to resist their truth, and unable to arrest Him.  So what is the impact of these words which are "spirit and life"?  How are we to understand the power within the "words of eternal life"?  A similar experience will be had by the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who did not understand that it was Christ in their midst, but later recalled, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  (See Luke 24:13-35.)   In today's reading, Jesus speaks of the "living water," meaning the Holy Spirit, teaching the people, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  So today, let us ask ourselves, for what do we truly thirst?  What is the deep need we have for something powerful, meaningful, filled with light, and giving us direction and substance?  In the race we lead in life, what are we chasing after?  Do all the things we can accumulate and accomplish leave us still with a thirst for something more?  Do we need direction and meaning?  It is Jesus Christ and His words which bring us this light, and we can be stirred by His words as were the apostles on the road to Emmaus in our own hearts, and we can seek this living water that quenches a thirst we will always have.  For it is God's love that compels us forward and that answers the deepest needs we have, which will lead us forward to shape our lives in meaning and purpose, and teach us what the power of that love holds.  The words are spirit and life and they draw us forward into life more abundantly.  Let us consider what we miss when all we have is a race without the struggle for God, and without the living water which quenches a deeper thirst. 

 

 

He was transfigured before them

Transfiguration icon, Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410), early 15th cent.

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  

 

Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

 

- Mark 9:2-13 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"   Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.   And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

 

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  Mark tells us this event of the Transfiguration happened after six days -- that is there are an intervening six days between the time of Peter's confession of Christ and Christ's exposition to the disciples that He will suffer (see yesterday's reading above), and the event described in today's reading.  Thus, Luke's Gospel says it is "about eight days" afterward (Luke 9:28).  Therefore we may understand the Transfiguration to be an event of the "eighth day," giving it the significance of a glimpse of the realities of the life of Resurrection, the eternal day of the Lord.  A high mountain, my study Bible tells us, is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (Matthew 5:1; Genesis 22:2, Exodus 19:2, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  Christ's transfiguration is a revelation, called a "theophany" in Greek, meaning a revelation or manifestation ("showing forth") of divinity. 

His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.   This is a display indicating an ontological reality; that is, a revelation of the truth of Jesus Christ in His divinity.  This shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten clothing is a display of Christ's uncreated, divine energy.  It is a revelation to the disciples coming soon after they are made to understand the suffering Jesus will undergo as Messiah.  John's Gospel teaches us that God is light (1 John 1:5), and therefore this exceedingly white, shining light coming from Jesus and His clothes demonstrates that Jesus is God.  In some icons, this light is shown as beyond white:  a blue-white, ineffable color, which indicates its spiritual, not earthly, nature and origin.  (See the icon, above.)

 

 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  My study Bible tells us that Elijah represents the prophets -- and since he did not experience death, all those who are alive in Christ.  Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  It says that their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.   

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  Peter's seemingly confused response comes out of an association that makes sense; he is grasping at the reality of what he and the other disciples are witnessing by proposing the building of tabernacles such as occurs at the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the feast of the coming Kingdom.  These serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom, as God dwelt in the tabernacle (or tent) among the Jews as they followed Moses toward the promised land.  Note that Moses and Elijah are immediately recognizable to Peter and the other disciples, and they speak with the Lord, a manifestation of the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1). 

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"   Here is again a complete theophany in this occasion of the Transfiguration of Christ:  Christ is revealed as Son by the Father.  The divine brilliant light which surround Him and in the bright cloud reminiscent of the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22), the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present, reveals the Holy Spirit.  The Father's voice bears witness from heaven concerning the Son.  "This is My beloved Son" is a statement of an eternal reality, outside of time, indicating that the divine glory they witness is Christ's by nature.  My study Bible states that from eternity past, infinitely before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration, He is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father:  God from God, as the Creed proclaims.  We are also commanded by the Father to "Hear Him!" for He is the Word (John 1:1).

Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."   After the experience of the Transfiguration, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words that Elijah has also come, as referring to John the Baptist.  Their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself (Matthew 17:13). 

 

The revelation of Christ in the Transfiguration is a revelation of true reality.  That is, it is a revelation of the foundation of all reality, the eternal truth of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  As the disciples have recently been taught that Jesus will suffer and die (and on the third day rise again, which they could not understand), they are now given a taste of an eternal reality as distinguished from the worldly reality that will come.  They are thus now more prepared to accept the meaning and the reality of the Resurrection that is to come after Jesus is in the tomb.  But what of this contradiction between the realities of the world and the eternal reality of God?  How are we to understand the distinct difference between the suffering Christ will undergo in the world and on worldly terms, and the truth of His divinity as has been revealed through the Transfiguration?  Perhaps it is this tremendous contradiction that so magnifies the state of our human condition for us, the place for the faithful believer in a world which is so full of suffering.  When we consider the astonishing beauty we can read into the Transfiguration -- especially the dazzling divine light, of a character that reaches beyond a worldly light but still expresses a beauty to us we seem to grasp -- then we can somehow come to terms more deeply with the love of God.   Because of the Transfiguration we are able to discern more viscerally the love of God for human beings, the extraordinary and unfathomable love that would have to be there for Christ the Son to voluntarily take on human life, and live and suffer and die the painful death He would endure in order to bring us closer to God, to give us a way to enter into God's life as well.  This is the astonishing beauty we take from the Transfiguration, because have to ask ourselves why Christ would live as one of us once we understand Him through this revelation of His true identity and divine origin.  It is this astonishing transfiguration that also gripped the minds of our Christian ancestors, coming to understand God as love and light but who loves and seeks us out to share in that love and light.  We need to discern how we are loved even within a world of imperfect sorrows that accompany sin in the form of lies, manipulation, hardship, toil, oppression, injustice, and so much more -- even as we know that God has brought brilliant, divine, heavenly love and light to us, so that we can also experience God's love for us.  This isn't simply conjecture or theory, but God's manifestation -- this theophany of the Transfiguration (and other occasions such as Christ's Baptism) -- has brought God's life to us in ways that we may also experience through prayer and the mystery of God drawn near and become one of us.  Our Church worship services and traditions are also meant to facilitate that place of mystery to us as spiritual experience, and this is why the ancient services and framework of mystery truly invite us in to an experience of God such as we are capable of accepting, even as the disciples John, James, and Peter were taken up to the mountain for an experience -- a taste -- of the reality of God, even if we are incapable of knowing God fully, as God knows God.  But let us ponder a moment to think about God's reality as one so far beyond us, a light and intelligence beyond our capacity to discern, and the tremendous love that can breach that gulf.  For Christ comes into the world as one of us, suffers as one of us, but leads us forward to His promised life with Him in the dazzling light so far beyond what we know.  

 

 

 

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  

 

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

 

- John 10:1-18 

 

In our present cycle of readings (John 7:1-10:21), Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final day of the Feast.  It is also the final year of Christ's earthly life and ministry.  He has just healed a man who was blind from birth, which is the sixth of seven signs in John's Gospel.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders did not believe concerning the healed man, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 

  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."  My study Bible comments on today's entire reading that Jesus' conversation with the Pharisees continues, as there is no break between John 9:41 and 10:1.  This is taking place, as noted above, at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, the "last day, that great day of the feast" (John 7:37).  Jesus is contrasting their leadership with His own.  He characterizes them as failed pastors of God's people ("pastor," my study Bible reminds us, comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who explains that the door is God's Word, which indicates both the Scriptures and also our Lord Himself (see verses 7 and 9), as the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  Anyone who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber.   Rather than using this door so all can see His works openly, my study Bible notes, these false shepherds are using underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls (verse 10).  In contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.   My study Bible comments that as Christ has intimate knowledge of every person, so also true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name, that is, personally.  Such pastors try to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and to express Christlike compassion for each (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, people respond to a true leader of this time, trusting that such a person is a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch is quoted:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  Truly, and in Orthodox tradition, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 7:47-49).  Note that these leaders fail to understand the things which He spoke to them (John 8:47).

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  My study Bible explains that the phrase all who ever came before Me refers not to Moses or to genuine prophets, but rather to those claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, my study Bible says, is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, thus luring away both leaders and people.  Life means living in God's grace here on earth, while the more abundant life indicates the Kingdom to come.

 

 "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  What does it mean that He is the good shepherd?  My study Bible says He reveals that it means He enters by the door (verse 2) -- that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself; He knows and is known by the Father (verse 15); He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them (verses 3, 14); and finally He gives His life for the sake of His people (verse 11), which is a direct prophecy of His coming Passion.  

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  My study Bible explains that other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  Therefore, for instance, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, it adds, it has been the teaching of the Church that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea, AD 325), a principle affirmed in every generation.  St. Ignatius, writing to an early second century Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians, taught, "Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of His Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there is one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  Jesus states, I lay down My life:  My study Bible says that He makes it clear that His life-giving death will be voluntary.  He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  As He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.  

Who is the Good Shepherd?  Let us consider what a good shepherd does.  In Jesus' words, the first requirement is that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.  Is it any wonder, then, that the Cross becomes the real centerpiece of the Gospels?  It is the first thing Jesus mentions after He calls Himself "the good shepherd."  Why should it be necessary for a good shepherd to lay down His life for the sheep?  To do so is, first of all, a great sign, a manifestation of the total love this particular Shepherd has for His sheep.  Of that we can be utterly assured.  It little matters -- or perhaps we should say, it matters not at all -- to which fold we belong as His sheep.  He has one flock and one flock only.  He cares totally for the sheep, in contrast to the hireling who flees in the face of danger to the flock.  Further on, Jesus teaches, "I know My sheep, and am known by My own."  He recognizes each one of those of His flock and knows them by name, and we who are of His flock know Him.  This is, again, a communication of love.  This kind of recognition is the way that love works, when you meet that rare someone whom you can trust among a whole field of people who vie for attention.  It is a kind of knowing that goes beyond words and beyond the surface, an unfolding of knowing and communion that stretches infinitely into the future.  This kind of love means that one is never through learning more about the other, and revealing more to that other.  It happens in the depth of a marriage or even a deep friendship, but it is mitigated by that infinite love of God, the Source of love and mediator of true communion.  This is what it means to be of one flock, to know to whom you belong, and by Whom you are loved and gathered in.  And Jesus reiterates, for a third time, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."  Not only does Christ love the sheep of His whole flock, and those to come whom we don't know, but His love is tied to the love of the Father -- who gives the command which Christ voluntarily follows to lay down His life for the sheep.  For this is not a heroic soldier, not a man defending his household, a firefighter or police officer or doctor or nurse who gives heroically to save others.  This is the command that guarantees that in this voluntary sacrifice to death, Christ will defeat death for all of us, so that we can follow.  He will lay down His life so that He can take it again, and break down that barrier of death for all of us, so that the flock can follow -- so that we can have life, and have it more abundantly.  Ultimately, we are those who know His voice, even when we know no other, even if we've never known one with this kind of love -- and He has already laid down His life for that love, for you who are of His flock, for when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  He is the door of love, the key to the flock, the way for us to follow forward into life.  Even when it seems all other doors are closed, this is the one door you really need to find for that life, even life more abundantly.

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On that last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee." 

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

 On that last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   My study bible tells us that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The ceremony of the drawing of water, in which water from the pool of Siloam (meaning "Sent") was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, is the context for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."   This was to commemorate the water pouring from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  But the living water Christ is speaking of, my study bible says, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life that accompanies this gift.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The Christ (the Messiah, "Anointed One") was expected to come from Bethlehem, the town of David (Micah 5:2). 

 

 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  My study bible reminds us that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (verse 32; see yesterday's reading, above).  By the time this last day of the Feast had arrived, no arrest had yet been made, because these officers had been converted by the teaching of Christ.  St John Chrysostom comments that although the Pharisees and scribes had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either one.  But these officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any such learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, he says "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."  

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus had come to Jesus by night to be taught by Him (John 3:1-21) and since had increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus was still based on our law, my study bible says, and so was not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1, Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees make a broad claim, that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study bible says that in doing so they show their blind hatred, and also their ignorance of the Scriptures -- for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

I'm always struck by the sheer confusion around Jesus.  John's Gospel gives us a picture of an increasing level of hysteria on the part of the leadership, even as their threats to Jesus begin to rise because of His growing popularity.   But nothing will come together until it is time, "His hour of glory" (John 12:23).   In the meantime, the officers at this Feast of Tabernacles (a sort of temple police) are simple unable to take Him, as they are stunned by His speech and teaching.  And if we pay close attention to Jesus' teachings in today's reading, we see they are, in effect, mysterious to the people who hear them, as is quite common in John's Gospel.  He says, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."   It's only after Jesus is glorified that even His apostles really understand that in those rivers of living water, He's speaking of the Holy Spirit.  And yet, the people are coming to faith in Him, the officers too amazed to arrest Him.  It's quite eye-opening to perceive that despite the chaos, the rising  division around Him, and all the forces stirred up among the leaders and the people, Jesus simply persists in His message, in what He's come to do.  He's come to preach and teach about the Kingdom and the realities that must be revealed.  He's Incarnate Lord for a reason, and has a mission to fulfill.  Nothing interferes with that mission:  not the attempts of the leaders to stop Him and arrest Him, not the confusion of the people, not the misunderstandings about the figurative language that He uses, not the fear and turmoil of the disciples that is to come, not the controversy -- none of it matters in terms of the fulfillment of His mission.  He persists and pursues what He is meant to do in union with the Father and the Spirit.  Judas' betrayal won't stop Him, and the Cross will not stop Him, because all of it will be a part of this mission, all used by God for a purpose.  It doesn't indicate a lack of prudence on Jesus' part, because we've already observed that He is quite prudent:  there are occasions when He deliberately evades Jerusalem and the religious leadership, even leaving Galilee for a time to go to Samaria (John 4:1-42).  It isn't a kind of recklessness that He manages to stir up controversy around Him.  All of this is for a purpose, and His hour is chosen.  But it is a kind of courage fortified by faith, and even the power of the Cross is in the midst of it all.  There is a lot that Jesus will endure as Messiah, but none of it is wasted, because His highest calling isn't to do His own will but to be true to the Father who sent Him, so that His mission of salvation for human beings is complete.  Possibly the greatest mystery of all is the Cross, but even that we understand as used by God to destroy death for all of us.   If these mysteries have indeed come down to us in the Church, perceived by the holy, trusted to give strength and hope to countless people throughout the centuries, and continuing to do so, then we can simply marvel that none of it was lost.  None of the controversy and complication and misunderstanding stopped any of this message from getting through and having its effect, and continuing to do so today.  Indeed, what we can truly assume is that Christ's revelation has more yet to give us.  The one mistake we can make is to underestimate His mission and ministry and the power of His words, for they continue to be "the words of eternal life" as St. Peter said (John 6:68).  If we ourselves look to Jesus as the image for our lives, we can't help but learn from Him:  from His humility and His courage, His willingness to serve, and His infinite capacity for faith and love.  He teaches us how we are to be in the world, and to have endless faith in the word and teachings of eternal life, for in them we find life for ourselves.  And this life cannot be stopped.