I do not know this Man of whom you speak!

 

 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

 

- Mark 14:66–72 

 

Yesterday we read that they led Jesus away to the high priest after seizing Him in the garden of Gethsemane; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.  But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.  Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'"  But not even then did their testimony agree.  And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But He kept silent and answered nothing.  Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  Jesus said, "I am.  And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy!  What do you think?"  And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!"  And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

 

  Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."   My study Bible comments that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  It says that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Mark 16:1-11).  

 

 And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.   St. Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Christ's prediction of his denial (Mark 14:27-31), nor the first crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  But only the second time the rooster crowed called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him.  And when he thought about it, he wept.  My study Bible quotes commentary from St. Ambrose of Milan, saying that nonetheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

 

 We all fail in our courage sometimes.  This is the man -- St. Peter -- whom tradition tells us requested to be crucified upside-down for fear of being considered equal with His Lord.  St. Peter also figures prominently in the Gospels as the one who so often speaks for the rest of the apostles, as he will also figure in the story of the early Church, after Christ's Ascension.  So, this same heroic, stalwart, strong, and courageous St. Peter is the man is today's story -- the one who cannot confess his faith in Christ in front of a servant girl.  To add insult to injury, as the expression goes, he's also the one who swore to Christ, after Jesus warned him that he would deny Him, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (See this reading.)  Neither should we forget that it is the same St. Peter to whom Jesus issued the unforgettable rebuke, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (see Mark 8:30-33).  So the life of this exemplary disciple (as one who more often than not might be called "first among equals") is filled with ups and downs, humiliating mistakes and failures, grand triumphs, total exuberance, a great and undoubted love of Christ, terrible heartache and fear, and finally the triumph of a martyr.  This is St. Peter.  But perhaps the best thing that St. Peter gives us is his love that is so strong it overcomes his shame and he returns to Christ and the rest of the disciples.  You see, it really seems that this is the great -- perhaps the greatest -- gift that St. Peter gives to us, to all of us, the rest of the Church, and for all time.  Because St. Peter shows us that, like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we can return to a loving Father, a loving Lord and Master, who does not lose His love for us because we make mistakes and err in our humanity, even multiple times.  It's to St. Peter that Jesus directed the admonition in the garden of Gethsemane, just before His betrayal and arrest, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (see again Friday's reading).  And to St. Peter that Jesus said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22:31).  We note Jesus' confidence that St. Peter would return, and indeed this man so afraid of a servant girl in today's reading would be the one to strengthen his brethren.  As human beings, like St. Peter, even with his great faith, we may go through our own tumult, fear, lack of courage, and insensibility on a number of occasions and for many reasons.  But we need to remember that our story in the Gospels contains all these facts about St. Peter for good reasons, because in him we find ourselves and our direction for our faith:  we return to Christ.  We always must return to Christ.  For we are meant to overcome even ourselves, to grow and gain courage and confidence in our faith, to strengthen one another, to find our deeper faith, and to move forward.  For it is this deepening of faith that is the true universal mark of discipleship:  we seek to grow toward God.  It matters not at all where we are right now, how well our faith and our strength and our courage is serving is or how poorly.  But what matters is our ongoing deepening understanding and growth of our faith, for our destiny is in Him, and that journey is meant to be infinite.  Let us take courage and know that we are meant for this journey.  Like St. Peter, our failures and even shame may become springboards to greater love and truth, and deeper faith in our future.  For he lived knowing that this story would be told of him -- even that he stood outside reduced to cursing and swearing that He did not know the Man while Jesus was on trial; and he died choosing also to serve the Lord in humility even in death.

 

 

 

 

Peace, be still!

 

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

 

- Mark 4:35–41 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?

 

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

 

- Mark 4:35-41 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, after beginning to preach in parables, then asked, "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.   

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"  My study Bible explains that the Lord's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  Commands to the sea can only be given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 65:5-6, 107:29).  It notes that Jesus was asleep because, as a man, he needed rest.  In Christ's Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, including sleep.  Additionally, this image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church.  My study Bible remarks that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of Christ's calming the tempests in the human soul.  

My study Bible comments that Christ's  rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in our souls.  Such a commentary makes it clear that "tempests" are the stuff of life within all of our collective experiences, and thus we should think about how we bring them to the Church, to Christ.  If we all experience these upheavals, times when we're afraid, when we don't know what is going to happen next or what the outcome will be, then we all have times when our faith is tested and our trust in Christ becomes, at least in some sense, challenged.  The disciples ask Jesus (who is asleep on a pillow), "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  This is clearly a time of the testing of their faith, as their challenge to Jesus expresses.  Doesn't He care?  Doesn't our Lord care if we perish?   But this question phrased in this way in the Gospel indicates something much deeper than human physical death, for this word is quite often used for a deeper, eternal death, a spiritual death.  It's also translated as to destroy or to annihilate, a certain death.  So, if we hear this question posed to Christ on those terms, we can most certainly say with confidence that Christ cares indeed about whether or not we will perish in an eternal or spiritual sense, because it is for this reason that He has come into the world, to save us all in this sense.  And perhaps, this is what we should think about when we think of perishing, and the tempests of life.  For the times of the testing of our faith don't really rest so much upon the outcome to our physical life conditions in this world, but the spiritual ones.  Do we come out of harrowing times with resentment toward God, or a detachment, or with a lack of faith?  These are the questions that seem more pertinent than whether or not we suffer in some sense that is physical, for all of us have expectations that we one day will die in the human, mortal sense.  While life in this world is indeed precious, and is given to us and created by God for us to cherish and cultivate, there's a deeper death implied in the word to "perish," and that's particularly true of the Greek word from which it's translated (ἀπόλλυμι/apollymi).  It's also the root word used to name "the Destroyer" or the angel of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:11.   So, we may ask, does Christ care if we are perishing?  And most certainly and emphatically the answer to that question is "yes."  He will die on the Cross to save us from that permanent, eternal spiritual death.  But in the reading, Jesus asks the disciples, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  In some sense, we can also understand that there are times in life we're given this experience of some sort of "storm" so that we strengthen our faith through it.  Relying on Christ, on prayer, on help from other faithful in the Church, becomes a way of learning and growing in dependence upon Christ through our fear, teaching us more about resilience and endurance, and even how our faith works through difficult circumstances.  So, in this context, the disciples will learn about facing the tempests which are yet to come to them, when they will go out into the world and preach the gospel, and brave persecutions of all kinds.  Oftentimes we may find that it is through difficult circumstances that our faith becomes deeper, teaching us not only about resiliency under duress, but even the creative potentials hidden to us that become revealed through persistent faith, to see a light in the tunnel, a path forward, a way to resolve something which remains a blessed sense of life and its continuity.  Frequently, outcomes may not be what we hoped for or expected, but faith leads to a different path that turns out to be one filled with light, one we had not expected nor understood before the storm and testing.  A persistent faith in facing a difficult situation may frequently produce unforeseen solutions and new ways of thinking to learn.  So Christ's faith works in us, and His powerful care remains active, even when He seems to be asleep or missing to us.  As human beings, these form our common experiences, for we are so often weak and at the mercy of forces beyond our personal control.  We can either put faith in the power of control, or faith in Christ who teaches us what is possible for us.  So often our choices seem to come down to that, a basic dichotomy that poses to us the very question of the reality of our existence and what foundation life is based on.  Where will you put your trust?

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations

 

 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

 

- Luke 21:20–28 

 

On Saturday we read that, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them.  But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."

 

  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  While we've been reading Jesus' discourse on the whole of what is called "end times," indicating that it's meant to reference the whole of the Christian era to the present day, here Christ once again becomes very specific regarding what is to come in Jerusalem.  My study Bible comments that the phrase when you see is a clear indication that many of those disciples listening to Him speak at that moment would still be alive at the time of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  The Siege of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD, at which time the temple was destroyed, and in accordance with Christ's prophecy, "not one stone" was "left upon another" that was not "thrown down" (see Saturday's reading, above).  Only one retaining wall remained standing, known in modern times as the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall.  Jesus speaks directly of His concern for those those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  In Luke 23:29, Jesus will warn again, as He is on His way to the Crucifixion, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!'"

 

 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  Here Christ's narrative shifts from the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem (which would come within a generation), to the time of His return and the judgment.  Let us pay close attention to the fearful events He describes, and the emotions stirred in the hearts of people:  fear, and distress, and from expectations of those things which are coming on the earth -- for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

 There are many who seem to have a conscious idea of the world somehow becoming better and better, a sort of progress of virtue of one kind or another.  This may be due to scientific or material progress in terms of modern technologies and advances, or advances in science and education, even innovations in new sorts of time-saving or powerful capacities for the use of energies, and all manner of modern infrastructure.  But at the same time, we need to take a look at the world and ask ourselves what innovation has not also brought uses which are surely not for the better of the world or of mankind, as modern wars have been so destructive, technologies within the twentieth century bringing us massive displacement of populations and even genocides.  Today's modern warfare gives us a no man's land where a society once had an infrastructure that served people for transportation, hospitals, universities, and even attempts at a universal constitutional concept of rights for all citizens.  Human beings may create with intelligence and industry many capacities, but those capacities also become used to bring us fearsome sights indeed, as the past century has easily witnessed and continues to witness.  In this vein, let us consider what is the difference between material innovation and the spiritual understanding of the blessings of our faith.  We certainly have experience of distress of nations, and men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Matthew 24:29).  St. Ambrose comments on today's passage in Luke, clearly seeing both physical and spiritual prophecy.  Not only will a  hostile army trample visible Jerusalem, as did the Romans, even emptying Jerusalem of its Jewish population.  But, he writes, "All Judea will be put to the spiritual sword, the two-edged sword, by the nations that will believe. There will be different signs in the sun, moon and the stars. When very many fall away from religion, a cloud of unbelief will darken bright faith, because for me that heavenly Sun is either diminished or increased by my faith. If very many gaze on the rays of the worldly sun, the sun seems bright or pale in proportion to the capacity of the viewer, so the spiritual light is imparted to each according to the devotion of the believer. In its monthly courses, the moon, opposite the earth, wanes when it is in the sun’s quarter. When the vices of the flesh obstruct the heavenly Light, the holy church also cannot borrow the brightness of the divine Light from the rays of Christ. In the persecutions, love of this life alone certainly very often shuts out the light of God."  So, therefore, St. Ambrose sees in this prophecy the pattern observed elsewhere in Scripture, that as faith is diminished, so the world becomes "darkened," a sense in which Christ the true Light is harder to see and to perceive.  Effectively, these prophecies become teachings on the importance of enduring in our faith and the practices of our faith.  For the light that we truly need is the spiritual light, and the truth we surely need to live by is the spiritual truth which Christ brings us.  The progress we make in material terms can be diminished with so much darkness that we can no longer see our path correctly without this light.  Let us not be taken in when things appear to be progress, but human suffering and the diminishing of life and of faith continue to our detriment.  At the same time, Christ asks us not to be deceived, and to persist in our faith, to watch.  As we in the developed world consider a wide array of material goods with which we may celebrate holidays, let us keep in mind our spiritual reality, and not be so dazzled that we don't keep our eyes on the true light.   There are many in the world who suffer for our faith, for Christianity, today.  Let us keep our eyes on His reality, and the teaching of the poor widow who sacrificed all she had for the love of God, for there are those who have kept and are keeping their faith in the face of violence and the swords of those hostile to Christ.  Let us keep in mind the great sacrifices as gifts to God some are willing to make and have made -- even of their very lives and security -- as we celebrate the holidays with gifts of a commercial kind.   Remember our brothers and sisters across the world in your prayers.

 

Do not be afraid; only believe

 

 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  

 

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  

 

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"   As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

- Mark 5:21–43 

 

On Saturday we read that, after crossing a stormy Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.  

 

  Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Here Jesus has returned from what we might call the strange experience in the country of the Gadarenes, and returned back to His ministry's "home" territory in Capernaum.  Jairus is an important man, one of the rulers of the synagogue.   We note yet again that St. Mark tells us that a great multitude was gathered to Jesus by the sea.  This same "great multitude" follows Him and throngs Him as He goes toward Jairus' house.  

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   My study Bible explains that the healing of this woman demonstrates Christ's power to cleanse and to heal.  In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions on a person, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  Yet, even so, in this midst of this thronging crowd, this woman who considers herself unclean nonetheless approach Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus corrects her thinking here, as she could not hide her touch from Him, and neither is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  He positively declares her powerful faith and its results to all by saying, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   She is not only called a "daughter," but is sent with both a blessing (Go in peace) and healing.  

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"   As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  Here  my study Bible comments that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).

After word comes that Jairus' daughter has died, Jesus tells him while they are still on the way to his home, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  These words remind us of Christ's words also to His disciples as they were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, and in the middle of a terrifying windstorm, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  Once again, Jesus juxtaposes faith and fear, emphasizing the importance of giving faith the upper hand.  We should remember that the word in Greek for faith has as its root the word that means "trust."  This does not mean simply an intellectual decision to accept a certain proposition, but an all-in kind of choice to trust in someone; specifically, to trust in Christ and His words.  So often this choice to trust comes down to love.  We trust in God, or we trust in Christ, or we trust another human being, out of a sense that we trust they love us.  Regarding human beings, of course, this doesn't mean they are not fallible.  But when it comes to Christ, we trust at another level, and for greater things than other human beings can do for us.  Our choice to trust Christ may begin at perhaps a shallow level, but the depths of trust go to the foundational levels of who we are, a kind of disposition or orientation of the heart at levels we might not even consciously know or understand.  This is because our relationship or communion with Christ extends far beyond what we know of the world, even of our experiences, but into soul and spirit.  St. Paul writes, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).  If we look at her carefully, we'll see that this woman with the twelve years blood flow embodies Christ's words teaching us not to fear, but instead to believe.  For she must have had terrific fear as she approached Christ, not only in this very close and mingling crowd, but of the state of her uncleanness according to the Law.  And yet, she trusted Christ enough so that her great faith was possible; she seems to have been certain that if she could just touch His clothes, she would be made well.  We can also see at what deep levels this power of Christ works, for she did not have to make herself easily known to Him on conventional terms.  The power within Him made a kind of connection through her touch of faith, and He felt that power go out of Him in response to her.  By contrast there is the young girl, the daughter of Jairus, who is completely without a say in the matter of her healing.  She lies at home on the point of death, and so her father comes to find Jesus and to plead with Him for help.  Notice that this child's healing also depends upon faith in contrast to fear.  But in this case, it is the faith of the parents that make the difference.  In the face of discouragement from his servants, Jesus tells Jairus, ""Do not be afraid; only believe."  Faith is so essential to this little girl's healing that Jesus takes His closest disciples with Him into her room.  These are the three disciples whose faith in the strongest (James, John, and Peter) -- and notably, He puts out all those who ridiculed Him.  Effectively, the faith of these together was enough for the young woman to be healed, even for the power of life and death to be at work in Christ on her behalf.  Note how the work of faith, and also the power of Christ are unseen.  But somehow we see their effects; these are at work in a kind of field that remains invisible to us although we are invited to share and to participate in it and know its effects (John 3:8).  In our own times of struggle, let us remember the juxtaposition that Christ gives to the disciples, to the woman with the blood flow, to Jairus the ruler of the synagogue and father to the girl.  Faith or fear.   One asks us for trust in the One whom we know loves us; the other simply asks to undo hope.

Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you

 

 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 

 

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  

 

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  

 

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

 

- Mark 5:1–20 

 

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

 

 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  The country of the Gadarenes, my study Bible explains, is in a region in Galilee with a mixed population of Gentiles and Jews.  Let us note this detailed and fairly careful description of this man whose life we can clearly say is in utter disorder.  He dwells among the tombs with the dead and not with the living.  He cannot be controlled, neither by himself nor by others who have sought to bind him often with shackles and chains.  But even these chains had been pulled apart and the shackles broken.  At the same time, no one could tame him; he is a state of chaos.  Moreover, he is self-destructive:   he is always in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  

 

 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  This Legion of demons occupying this man and making his life miserable, recognize Jesus.  They know He is the Son of the Most High God. They fear the time of judgment, and they also fear torment.  We note that the text seems to indicate that Jesus immediately sought to exorcise this man.  Moreover, even under the severe yoke of the demonic influence, the text says that this man ran and worshiped Jesus when he saw Him from afar.  The Greek word translated as worshiped literally means to fall on one's knees, to kiss the ground before another as in prostration.  But this word is often used for "worship."   In whatever sense this is used, the text seems to indicate that the man reaches to Christ, although the demons fear Him.

 

 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  The swine give us an indication that Jesus and the disciples are in a place with a great deal of Gentile population.   My study Bible comments that this extremely violent and self-destructive death of about two thousand swine indicates that this man had been protected by God's care.  Otherwise, he would have perished under the demonic influence.  It also reinforces the understanding that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, and shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  This part of the text emphasizes for us that these people are likely to be Jews who are engaged in what was (for Jews) a sinful occupation:  raising swine to sell to the large Gentile population in that region.  These people make a clear choice:  they fear Jesus.  Rather than marveling at the transformational change in the man under the influence of the Legion of demons and his astonishing healing (they saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind), the only thing that makes an impact on them is the loss of their swine.  Rather than welcoming the good news and the power of Christ manifest in their midst, they to plead with Him to depart from their region.

 

 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.  Here is the response of the man who, while under the severe influence of a Legion of demons, ran toward Christ and worshiped Him.  He does not want to stay in this place where the status quo of his affliction was preferable to those who beg Jesus to leave.  He begs to get into the boat and become a disciple of Jesus.  But Jesus has another plan for him, another way to share the gospel of Jesus Christ:  "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."

 

 What we need to marvel at in today's story is the thing that is completely overlooked by the people who own the swine, and that is the great transformation that takes place in the former demoniac.  This tormented man goes from being utterly disordered and impossibly unregulated, to peacefully sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  How does someone go from being so entirely out of sorts to sitting quietly and clothed and in his right mind?  This is a great transformation, an effective change made possible entirely by Christ.  In our modern world, many people -- perhaps particularly city dwellers -- are familiar with sights of homeless populations and individuals.  Many of these seem to be striking images of disordered conduct such as we read here:  clothing in tatters, rambling speech, shouting, and all manner of inability to live in what one might call conventional community, such as it is today.  But the picture we get of this man beset by a legion of demons seems to indicate one thing very clearly:  all of this disorder within him and in his life is precipitated by the influence of the demons.  While the demons plead with Christ not to torment them, what we can see is how they are indeed tormenting this man.  Why is he cutting himself on the rocks?  Why does he go about incessantly shouting?  Why is he living among the tombs -- and why can he not be clothed or even tamed so that when he is, by contrast, simply "sitting" it is a revelation of good order?  This clear contrast between the chaos of his demoniac life and his finally peaceful state through the power of Christ teaches us about the demons and what they do.  They respect no boundaries whatsoever, neither those that one considers "should" be proper to them, nor the boundaries of this poor, unfortunate man who must live in the midst of a legion of them.  He is their victim, a sort of scapegoat upon which they all parasitically rest and derive whatever it is that the demonic receives from people they afflict.  The demons are bullies; this man is in a sense swamped by them and unable to fend them off alone.  In short, Christ comes into this picture as Liberator, and He is a Liberator and Deliverer of a particular kind.  Only He makes it possible for these demons, trespassing where they don't belong, and creating misery for the man, to be evacuated and routed out.  As my study Bible points out, we can see how terrifyingly destructive they are in this almost savage scene of the swine rushing down the steep place to their deaths in the sea.  It might help here to remember that in Scripture, cliffs can symbolize the perilous nature of sin.  But all of this is lost on the people who simply respond with fear to Jesus.  There is no faith in them.  They care only for the swine which they have lost, and Jesus the Son of the Most High God is not welcome in their world.  Christ's effect is too frighteningly "other" for them, outside of their norm, and beyond their entirely worldly set of values, where even this man who was lost and is healed seems to mean nothing to them.  Let us also look at the bigger picture, and recall that Jesus has set sail with the disciples across a frighteningly stormy Sea of Galilee, seemingly just to come to this place.  Here, He has found one man desperately in need of His saving power, and Jesus in turn sends the healed man home to the Decapolis (meaning "ten cities" in Greek, a region of great Roman and Greek cultural influence), to proclaim great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.  Note that in contrast to the vicious world of the demons, Christ's powerful victory is not one of conquest and suffering, but one in which the demons are allowed to go where they want to into the herd of swine, and this man is liberated from his captivity -- especially through the compassion of Christ.  On the one hand, modern readers may feel sorry for the swine.  But on the other hand, they are simply the property of those for whom their sale and slaughter will bring profit, and who care absolutely nothing for the welfare of an afflicted human being.  In this reading, then, we have the contrast of what we might call two kingdoms, one of the demons, and the other the kingdom of God, which Jesus bears into the world, as will the apostles (Luke 10:9).  Let us remember the great good news of the healed man, and the message of the Lord's compassion.

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of the Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

 

- John 7:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's teaching, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him," many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  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."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by the Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.   This chapter begins a section in John's Gospel (John 7:1-10:21) which covers events during Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This entire section (nearly three chapters) covers eight days.  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life, in which He taught in the temple and attracted much public attention.  My study Bible comments that some thought He was mad (John 7:20); others believed He was the Messiah (John 7:31, 40); and still others (such as the religious leadership of the Sadducees and Pharisees) considered Him to be a threat (John 7:32, 45-52).  The text tells us that the Jews sought to kill Him.  We must remember that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews is used like a political label, and most often denotes the leadership in the temple at Jerusalem and those who serve them.  Some suggest this term is more accurately translated "Judeans," and in that context we understand that those designated as such in this Gospel are either among the leaders in Jerusalem (in the region of Judea) who generally treat Christ as a threat, or among their followers in Galilee or elsewhere.  As stated frequently here on this blog, all of the people in this text, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are Jews, including Christ and His disciples among whom is the author of this Gospel. 

Now the Jews' Feast of the Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Succot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai and the people lived in tents, or "tabernacles."  Together with Passover and Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks), this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  My study Bible explains that it contained numerous sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43), and we will be examining Christ's preaching and teaching in light of those events.  In later terms, the final day of the festival included drawing water from the pool of Siloam (which plays a role in the text) which would be mixed with wine and poured out at the foot of the altar.  My study Bible explains this was both a purification and done in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  Moreover it include the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple, reflected in Christ's teaching in references to light.

His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  Christ's brothers are extended family, either children of Joseph (His earthly guardian) by a previous wife, or cousins.  In the language of the Bible, and still today across the Middle East, various relations are referred to as "brothers" (for example, Lot, the nephew of Abram, is called his brother  in  Genesis 14:14-16).  Pertinent to this passage, my study Bible references Matthew 12:46-50, Jesus' relatives have still not yet understood His identity and mission.  In that passage, Christ points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of His Father.  

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  My study Bible explains that Jesus' going to the festival not openly means not with a grand, public entrance.  This will happen on Palm Sunday, a week before His death and Resurrection (John 12:12-16).  Let us note how the people are already afraid to speak of Jesus openly for fear of the religious leaders.

As happens frequently in the Gospels, we notice Christ's cautious response to the circumstances in which He finds Himself.  So often He is dealing either with those who have hostility toward Him, or reject His mission and message in another way (such as seeking to force Him to be king (John 6:15).  In today's reading, His "brothers" (or kinspeople) seem to ridicule Him, suggesting that if He is really such an important figure He should act in accordance with what is expected of someone who seeks to be publicly known.  They say, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."   Judea is the center of Jewish authority and official life; it is the region in which Jerusalem sits.  His brethren almost sound like modern publicity agents, encouraging someone who wants to be a pop star or a famous public figure to go out and show themselves to the world, making an impression to get more followers.   Again, as is often the case in the Gospels, the encouragement is to show His "works" -- the marvelous healings and other signs.   Often it's demanded of Jesus that He shows a proof to those who don't believe, so that they will be convinced.  This repeatedly happens on the part of the religious leadership; they demand proof of His authority to act in the temple as He does (John 2:18).  It's as if we're supposed to understand that there is a worldly way to go out into the world and show greatness, and then on the other hand, there is God's way.  There is Christ's way.  And Jesus always sticks to the mission.  He always follows what His Father tells Him.  In this case, to go out and prove to the world -- and especially to the religious leaders, or even to His disciples as His relations suggest -- is not the way of Christ the Savior.  It is not the way to know faith and to understand it.  At this stage of His ministry, it is not the way that salvation must be brought to the world.  Faith must work on a different basis; His ministry must unfold in a particular way, and not through means of sheer publicity, public impression, or signs designed merely to convince rather than to point toward God.  Jesus teaches us to be discerning, and to know the time.   In today's reading, He tells His relatives, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready" and  "I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  Elsewhere we're told that His hour had not yet come (John 2:4, 7:30, 8:20).  And still at other times we will be told that His hour has come, meaning the time of His glorification in His Passion, death, and Resurrection (John 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1).  These examples teach us about our own need for discernment; the right time is not at just any time for particular things. While we may not have the perfect discernment of Jesus, but we may in faith seek to live prayerful lives, seeking that kind of guidance and discipline that He shows.  He doesn't follow the world, doesn't live by conventional worldly "wisdom" such as the challenges His kinsmen submit to Him to show Himself to the world.  There are times when we are, in fact, called out of the world.  This is indeed the very definition of the sacred, something set apart for God, and that is also the story of the whole of the Bible, and all those called by God.  What we should aim for is to fulfill the promise in the life that Christ leads to show us by example, and seek in a prayerful life to find our own particular time and discernment about what we do.  It is not so much that we need to be as perfect as Christ is in such obedience and discipline, but we do need to understand that we might be called out of the world, out of what is conventional, through a life of devotion and prayer in seeking what God wants of us.  Just like Christ's hour, this is the way of the Cross, to forego what might be expected or even demanded by "the world," and find instead God's way for us.  Let us seek to bear that difference in the struggle marked by the love of God.

Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water

 

 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

 

- Matthew 14:22–36 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that King Herod feared Him, He departed from by boat to a deserted place by Himself.  But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

  Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  We recall that Jesus' plan was to seek to withdraw from the scrutiny of Herod Antipas, for as Herod began to hear of Jesus, he feared that Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead, and that this was the explanation for Christ's miraculous works.  Here, after feeding the multitude, He once again withdraws for solitude to pray.

Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  My study Bible comments that only God has dominion over nature; therefore, this miracle is a confirmation of the divinity of Christ.  It is now the second time that Jesus has permitted His disciples to be caught in a storm (see also Matthew 8:23-27).  The first time, He was with them.  But here he had left them alone.  In this way, my study Bible explains, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.   It is I is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (see Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).  My study Bible adds that Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"   My study Bible says that Peter's faith allows him to walk on the water.  It asks us to note that Peter does not ask to walk on water per se, but rather to come to Jesus.  Peter's desire is not to perform miracles but to be with Christ.  Peter is able to participate in this divine miracle as long as he keeps his focus on Christ.  When he becomes distracted, he begins to sink.

 

 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  My study Bible explains that the Greek term for doubt used here means "wavering" or "hesitation."  Peter's sinking was due not to the storm but rather his doubt; so Christ does not rebuke the wind -- but rebukes Peter.

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."  This response bears some resemblance to the words of the centurion who stood at the Cross and witnessed Christ's Passion (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39).  My study Bible comments that this is the first time the disciples confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  As they know that only God can be worshiped, they confess His divinity by worshiping Him.  Here, the boat is symbolic of the Church.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.  Again, the miracles of healing are prominent in Christ's ministry.  My study Bible comments that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life, and that contact with His flesh is life-creating (see Matthew 9:20-22).  

Stories of the miraculous give us a particular feel in Scripture, a sense of something extraordinarily present that grips our imagination and asks it to go beyond our everyday boundaries and expectations.  There are many who read Scripture and automatically discount the miracles they encounter there.  But Scripture is a kind of literature that asks us to read what it contains with a perspective that everything in it is necessary for us to grasp something, to receive what there is to give.  I also cannot immediately dismiss all possibility of the miraculous, if only because what might be considered miraculous seems to happen and surprise people all the time.  This is particularly true of things that seem to be coincidental, or dreams that give us a hint of things that are happening elsewhere, a sense that pervades prayer, an intuition that supplies an answer we'd been grasping for but couldn't find in some normal "rational" sense.  But let us consider for a moment the miracles of Christ, for they are all, importantly and essentially for us, connected to faith.  My study Bible points out that St. Peter is able to walk on the water toward Christ so long as he keeps his focus on Christ, a key to understanding the miraculous sense here.  The people who bring their sick to be healed have the sort of faith that resembles that of the woman with the twelve year blood flow: we're told that they begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.  This connection of faith is clearly the thread -- or perhaps we should say rope -- by which we make contact with potentials that are far beyond the daily grasp of the worldly.  It's also quite essential that we know Peter requested Jesus to command him to walk toward Him, so Peter knows he's responding to a command from Christ.  Moreover, it's the fourth watch of the night, which begins at three o'clock in the morning, and so there is only whatever light might be found on the sea from the stars and moon.  Just as Peter begins to sink once he takes his eyes of the Jesus, so when we lose that thread (or rather, that sturdy rope to hang onto) we also risk sinking into the daily grind of limited expectations and colorless perspective.  Faith, on the other hand, can inspire from depths we didn't know we had.  Indeed, faith can open up depths within us to explore -- to be healed of painful trauma we conceal from ourselves, and to open to creative energies we hadn't understood were there.  Faith gives us confidence just as it gave St. Peter, but we have to remember that it is that we look to Christ that is the key.  It's one thing to place one's faith in something inanimate, or something worldly and material, and another to place one's faith in Christ, the One came to the world in order to bring us life, and to bring life more abundantly (John 10:10).  That becomes a faith -- a key to union -- with something that offers us much more than we can give it.  That faith opens up to the work of the apostles, with whom Christ was able to share His power and authority.  That kind of faith opens up the fruit of the Spirit we read about in Galatians 5:22-23, allowing us to participate in those virtues we otherwise do not have the resources to muster.  These examples are just the bare minimum of gifts and inspiration that we can attribute to faith.  Faith confers the capacity to keep going when otherwise things simply look hopeless when we take God out of the picture.  Faith confers the ability to keep trying when recovery from illness seems impossible.  Faith teaches us that where there is life there is hope, and so on -- we could continue this list far beyond the limits of a blog post.  But what is of true importance, once again, is Whom it is that we put our faith into, for Christ has a gospel message, a Kingdom characterized by certain realities He teaches, and the power of love and life.  His is not the gospel of rage or vengeance or material power.  He offers us that special thing we see on display in today's reading, and if we can look around, we'll find it all around us in the world of the faithful of today, yesterday, and those to come.  In that light, I'd like to share an inspirational blog post regarding a young man called "Superman," written by his Dad (found at this Substack link, which can be read free of charge).  Through faith, a boy with serious struggles became Superman, and continues to inspire.  Let us consider the power of our faith today, in such a world of devastating spectacle, but so much potential that is hidden without that faith.  Let us consider the miraculous, and how it may appear to us when we are least expecting it, without the eyes of faith to see it.