Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down

 

 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

 

- Luke 13:1–9 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?  Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, least he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there til you have paid the very last mite."

 

  There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  My study Bible comments that these two historical incidents are only reported in Luke.  The slain Galileans, it says, were probably Zealots, Jewish nationalists, who triggered some disturbance against the Romans.  The collapse of the tower in Siloam, whether by accident or sabotage, was believed to be divine justice on sinners.  Very importantly, Christ denies that this suffering was God's judgment.  On the contrary, He is using these illustrations for those who perish because they will not repent, shifting the assumptions about judgment to the gospel message of the Kingdom.  

 

 He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"  My study Bible says that the fruitless fig tree is universally interpreted in the Church to be fallen humanity.  The three years, it says, represent God's covenants with represent God's covenants with God's people through Abraham, Moses, and Christ -- all of which are rejected, as well as the three-year earthly ministry of Christ.  The keeper of the vineyard is Christ Himself.  He intercedes on our behalf so that He will suffer His Passion and send the Holy Spirit to us before the final judgment takes place.  

Jesus' parable of the fruitless fig tree is a very important portrayal of the ways of the kingdom of God.  Christ continues to make every effort to save, to nurture and feed human beings with what they need for spiritual fruit, to give us more time to repent and grow and receive the kingdom of God He preaches.  This is the way that we need to understand God, and God's ways, for it appears over and over again in the ways that Christ preaches and the stories He tells us.  Even when He tells another parable -- this time of a vineyard -- against the religious leaders in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:33-46) -- the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers still illustrates God's repeated efforts to send help to reap the harvest of the vineyard.  It's important that the parable of the Barren Fig Tree (the latter verses in today's reading) comes after Christ's teaching on judgment.  He's clearly addressing the people who hold presumptions that the terrible fates or deaths that happened to some people are signs of God's judgment on them, and He is telling them that they are mistaken and do not understand judgment.  He shifts their attention to the one thing that really matters in terms of the resurrection and life that He preaches, an acceptance of the gospel message of the kingdom of God.  This, He tells them, must be their focus when they think of judgment, for that is the door (and He is the door) to eternal life.  The continual entreaty of God, in the persons of the prophets repeatedly sent to the people throughout Jewish spiritual history, and in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, in the martyrs and saints to come, in the Holy Spirit, in the angels that seek to guide us -- all of these things reflect the nature of God who is love, and God's love for us.  Humankind is given an extended time, and all kinds of help, for the saving gospel of Christ to reach to all the nations.  Like a dedicated and loving parent who will not give up on their child, God continually seeks to show us the way to His life and the fullness that awaits our true spiritual health.  Will we find our way to God?  How many do not care, or fall victim to all the things Christ says interfere with our faith?  These stumbling blocks He names throughout the Gospels, such as the "cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches" mentioned in the parable of the Sower, the hypocritical practices of the Pharisees and scribes (Matthew 23) or of any religious leadership, and all the myriad temptations we face (Luke 4:1-13).  We should remember that God's unfailing constant entreaties come to us not simply within the arc of time as given in Scripture, but also within our own lifetimes.  Repentance allows us to be transfigured and to grow in our faith and understanding throughout our lifetimes; there is no moment when we are truly alone without God's presence in some way attending and awaiting our attention and opening to the gospel.  Let us practice the fullness of our faith with Jesus' message of the true judgment and its central focus on the gospel of the Kingdom, and also God's unwavering love which awaits us always (Luke 15:11-32).

 

 

 

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit

 

 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." 

 

  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Here is a call for discernment, and attention to the inner spiritual state of a person.  What we have read so far (over the course of the past two readings) is a growing depth of intransigence on the part of these Pharisees, religious leaders.  Their hard-heartedness and self-righteousness blinds them to repentance, to the words of Christ, and even to see the powerful healing He has done for what it is, the sign of holy power at work.  Jesus has just criticized them for blaspheming against the Holy Spirit in accusing Him of working by the power of demons.  Here He addresses the state of their interior lives, using the analogy of a tree and its fruit.  Brood of vipers is a term used by John the Baptist to address the religious leaders who came to him in the wilderness, also indicating a lack of capacity for repentance, for opening minds and hearts to the Lord's work.  (See Matthew 3:7.)  "Brood" means offspring.   My study Bible explains that the heart in Scripture is a reference to the center of consciousness.  It notes that the heart is the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  Here Jesus speaks of the good treasure of the heart:  my study Bible says that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  But on the contrary, when the heart is captured by malice and evil, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion (see Matthew 6:23). 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  Imagine that!  After so many signs, here these scribes and Pharisees demand yet another.  My study Bible says that they show their wickedness by so doing.  It points out for us that Christ will not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent. 

 

 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  The term adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration for Israel used by the prophets, in the times when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).   The sign of the prophet Jonah is Christ's Passion and Resurrection; it is the only sign these who duplicitously demand signs from Him will receive.  In the heart of the earth refers to Christ's entombment. 

 

"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."   Here again Jesus affirms that the response to Him is the pivot point for judgment, and makes more full the analogy to the prophet Jonah (see Jonah 1 - 4).  Jonah was sent by God to Nineveh, and did not want to go to these strangers who worshiped foreign gods.  But they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and Christ, a greater than Jonah, is here before them.  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba, whose origins trace to the Red Sea region bordered by Ethiopia and Yemen, thereby controlling one of the earliest ancient trade routes, source of great wealth.  But together with her wealth, her understanding gave her the reverence for the greater value of holy wisdom, which is also understood to be the provenance of our Lord.  And a greater than Solomon, Christ Incarnate, is here before them.

In today's reading, Jesus teaches, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  In this sense, Jesus continues from His analogy of human beings to trees; in these words, He is comparing the words we speak to the fruit that a tree bears.  If a tree is diseased or blighted, it will not bear good fruit.  One must carefully cultivate and prune and pay attention to trees with the proper medicine, otherwise they can bear many afflictions, and the fruit will not be good or edible.  So it is with human beings, only we cannot be corrected successfully from the outside.  Whatever medicine is offered, whatever words Christ teaches, if we don't take them to heart and apply them, then how will we be corrected, how will the things that afflict us be healed so that we may bear good fruit?  If we are bitter with envy, this can blight our capacity for bearing good fruit, and afflict our souls, just as it does the Pharisees and scribes in today's reading.  In yesterday's reading, the Pharisees labeled the work of the Holy Spirit (Christ's signs or healing miracles) the work of demons, thus blaspheming the Spirit.  If we are so spiritually blind that we would do the same, then how is the grace of the Holy Spirit to be at work in us, healing us of what ails, and giving us spiritual medicine to repair our hearts?   In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."  If we put together St. Paul's "fruit of the Spirit" with Christ's demand that we make the tree good in order to bear good fruit, then it stands to reason that opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit and the ways that the Spirit can be at work in us and in our lives is a key to the "good treasures" of the heart that may be brought forth as "good things."  So important is this for understanding that Jesus underscores the point by teaching us that we will give an accounting in the judgment for even every idle word.  Those fruits of the heart, our words, will be the basis for that judgment.  In this context let us again recall the words spoken by these men Jesus is confronting:  they have just pronounced the work of the Holy Spirit to be the work of demons, thereby committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  In this light, we have yet another lesson on personal blindness:  blasphemy is the very thing for which they will accuse Jesus and bring Him before Pilate to be crucified.  Let us consider how important the notion of repentance is, the willingness to reconsider what we think we know, opening our hearts to God to be led.  Otherwise we run the risk of projecting our own blindness onto others, our faults we don't wish to see.  Fortunately we have prayer and worship always working for us so that Christ's light can show us the way, revealing to us the things we need to see, and ways we need to change.  For this is real healing; and so important is it that this message is repeated many times:  see Matthew 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27 -- all referencing Isaiah 6:10.  Let us seek the light of grace, the holy wisdom that heals us.

Abide in Me, and I in you

 

Vine and branches harvest, 4th century Byzantine mosaic; Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome, Italy

 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

 

- John 15:1–11 

 

Currently we are reading Christ's Farewell Discourse which He gave at the Last Supper.  Yesterday, we read that He said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here." 

 

 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."  My study Bible tells us that the vine is a symbol of Israel (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21).  In contrast to disobedient and unfruitful Israel, it says, our Lord calls Himself the true vine, which together with the branches constitutes a new and fruitful people of God:  the Church.   At the Divine Liturgy, the bishop prays that the Lord will visit and confirm the vineyard, the local body of Christ, which was planted with His own right hand (Psalm 80:15-16).  To abide in this vine, it adds, is to abide in Christ and Christ's Church.  The figure of the vine and the branches shows, first, that our union with Christ is intimate and real.  Second, that life flows from the vine to the branches -- to abide in Christ is dynamic and vitalizing.  Finally, the fruit which we bear is both good works and mission (John 15:16; 17:18). 

 

 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."  My study Bible reflects that one cannot love God and disobey God's commandments.  It states that to love God is to obey Him (John 14:15).  

Some of us might be put off by Jesus' insistence (now seen several times, and in various forms, in the Farewell Discourse) that to love Him is to keep His commandments.  We might consider this in light of political thought and democratic values, or autocratic parenting that demands absolute obedience.  But then we would be forgetting that God is love, and that what it means to follow Christ's commands is to abide in that love.  That is, to abide in His love, which is the source and understanding of what love is and does.  Therefore by so doing, we learn ourselves what love is, and how to love in turn.  ("We love because He first loved us" - 1 John 4:19.)  In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes the need to abide in Him.  This is the only way we can truly bear fruit, the kind of good fruit that Christ seeks.  Jesus says, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."  He gives Himself, once again, as the example.  He keeps the Father's commandments, and abides in the Father's love.  So we are to do the same with Christ.   He gives us the image of the vine and branches for this; as branches, we must bear good fruit, and there is only one way to do that -- by abiding in the vine.  Note that He also says, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  Those branches which fail to bear the spiritual fruit desired will be pruned away, removed from the vine.  And even those that bear fruit will also be pruned in and of themselves, so that they produce more.  This gives us an image even of how Christ's commandments shape our lives, as we grow in discipleship, learning His "way," and discard or cast off those things we come to understand as hindrance, stumbling block, the "wrong way."  This is a dynamic image of love, in which there is give and take; we are given His commandments made in love, and in turn we show love by learning from Him, abiding in Him and His commandments, living His life that He shows to us and offers us.  So we also become bearers of fruit, and we are in turn "pruned" in order to more abundantly bear that fruit.  This is a dynamic, powerful, loving relationship -- and He describes what it means to "abide in Him" in ways that make it clear that this is growth and a process that doesn't end, but also extends to the world and keeps growing, both internally through God's love and work, and externally through whatever fruits are produced and made to grow even more abundantly (see Matthew 5:16).  So, we have a dynamic lifetime ahead of us, couched in Christ's love, and through that love, His teachings for us, His guidance, His leading.  Let us bear the fruit He seeks, and abide in His love, learning His commandments more fully day by day.  He gives this word, He says,"that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

 

 

Let no one eat fruit from you ever again

 

 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  

So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city. 

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  

 

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

 

- Mark 11:12-26

 

On Saturday we read that, as Jesus and the disciples are on the road toward Jerusalem, they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  

 

For the churches of the West (and the Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church), yesterday was Palm Sunday.  For most Orthodox Churches, Palm Sunday is this coming Sunday.  These events are covered in an intervening reading between Saturday's reading, above, and today's.  Please see Matthew 11:1-11, the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.   My study Bible explains that it was not the season for figs means that this fig tree had sprouted an early an early fall foliage, indicating a first crop, but without bearing any fruit.  Jesus, finding not even one fig, condemns it.  This is a symbolic gesture; in Scripture a fig tree is often a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10).  My study Bible says that her spiritual fruitfulness has ceased, so the Kingdom will be taken from her and given to another people, who are called to bear spiritual fruit (see Matthew 21:43; Galatians 5:22-23).  

So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.   This act by Jesus is called the cleansing of the temple.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god) and were considered defiling in the temple.  The text also mentions those who sold doves:  these were the smallest and most inexpensive sacrifice, the one made by the poor.  It is likely that those who sold doves are mentioned specified as prices were inflated for pilgrims coming for the Passover feast, thereby this sacrifice of the poor would become a way to profit from those who had very little to begin with.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.

 

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."   My study Bible comments here that the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act on the part of Christ.  It signifies the judgment of Israel.  The disciples need to learn, it says, that the old covenant with Israel is becoming "obsolete" and will "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).  They will establish His Church, ultimately to be filled with Gentiles and Jews, and they need assurance that they are following Christ's will.  This fig tree will be an indelible image in their minds.  

 

 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."  Clearly, Jesus is addressing what must be their astonished reaction to the withered fig tree.  My study Bible says that while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, the patristic consensus is that they had this authority if the need had arisen (there are stories of certain saints who made crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, not everything the apostles accomplished was written down.  Beyond the literal meaning of these statements, Christ's promise is additionally an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  Theophan comments, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things. 

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."  This statement really should be coupled with the one above it, as it is given here as a necessary component of prayer.  While we may call upon God's power to help us in all times, we should also understand that it is part and parcel of that same understanding of faith that we give up to God our own concerns and "debts" we feel have been incurred by others.  In this way, all things are truly in the hands -- and the power -- of God, and our prayers are no doubt more effective for being more in alignment with God's will and God's truth for us.  My study Bible notes that this teaching is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35), which concludes with the same teaching.  To be unwilling to forgive (literally meaning to "let go" in Greek) is to flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.  Let us note that we "let go" to God (as in "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors," Matthew 6:12), so that we are able to walk in response in this world the way that God directs us to do.

This vivid, unforgettable image of the withered fig tree has to be something which had a distinctive effect upon the disciples.  We have to note that it is Peter, who, as they pass by, remarks, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."   Effectively, Jesus did not simply wither the tree with a wave of His hand in front of them.  It was a spoken command that had this effect, whether or not the effect was immediately noticeable:  "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  This is not just any command from Christ.  It is, rather, a curse.  Let us think back to the whole of the Gospels, and ask ourselves if we can recall another time when Christ used His power to curse anything or anyone.  But this withered fig tree, however, remains a testimony to all of us about ourselves and our fellow human beings.   It is a symbol of what is spiritually unfruitful, of lives lived by choice to care nothing for the things of God, the things of beauty, truth, goodness -- a life lived in willing sacrifice of spiritually good things in exchange purely for what we can gain through selfishness and a focus on the material.  This is because the story of this fig tree is so clearly juxtaposed around the cleansing of the temple, Christ's visible expression of condemnation of the practices He calls out in this one act which involves physical force that we can think of by Christ.  In so doing, Jesus teaches, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  He puts together two verses from different prophecies for this statement:  Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  So in the act of cleansing the temple, and in Jesus' words -- which, lest we forget, are the Lord's words as given to the prophets -- Jesus gives us the "text" for the image of the withering of the fig tree.  This is a failure of the spiritual leaders to guide the people to what is spiritually fruitful.  It is a collapse, into a nutshell, of the failure to find faith in Christ's mission through the Incarnation.  Similarly, when Jesus chastises the cities to which His ministry has gone:  "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" (Matthew 11:21).   When He mentions those mighty works done in those cities, we are also to keep in mind the "mighty works" He could not do, such as in His hometown of Nazareth, because of the lack of faith He found there (see Mark 6:4-6).  Such works are also spiritual fruit in that sense in which they also depend upon the faith of the people.  We're given the sense, through these images and acts in the Gospels, that God's power is always at work, always on offer, as is God's love, but spiritual fruit also depends upon faith, and in this sense, the works of human beings matter too.  It's a sense in which humankind is really the ground of God's work; there is a way in which our free will, as given by God, becomes a sort of gate-keeper to God's work in the world.  It can work through us with our "yes" -- or our lack of faith can become a stumbling block, a closed gate, because even Christ could perform no mighty work without the presence of faith.  When Jesus speaks about prayer in today's reading, and its connection with God's power working through faithful human beings, such as the apostles, He makes clear the role of faith in the work of God's power in the world.  Moreover, and so importantly, He adds the words about forgiveness as an essential part of our prayer.  Without the willingness to "give up" the things in life that challenge us, the injustices and hurts, the things that cause us to believe others owe us something for what has been taken away from us, the trespasses and bad acts done against us, we are not putting all of our lives in the hands of God and allowing God to work God's grace fully in our lives.  As Christ would go to the Cross, so we are to take up our crosses -- which means that our suffering, as well as our joys, is in the hands of God, and that we turn to God to find the ways God wishes for us to walk through an imperfect and unjust world in which evil still plays an active part.  And this is where we are until the Judgment, until we await Christ's final return and the full life of Resurrection promised through the events we celebrate as Easter or Pascha.  In the Church, as faithful in the world, we give everything into the hands of God, so that God's grace may work through us to produce the spiritual fruit Christ is looking for.  For this is who we are as His followers, and His commands that He has given us.  In that sense, the withered fig tree stands as a warning to all of us, for what happens when the love of God is supplanted by the love of something else.

 

 

 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things

 

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." 

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?"  Jesus is addressing an agricultural society; to understand the fruit of a tree is meaningful in context, and also in the light of the words of John the Baptist, which He echoes here.  Brood of vipers was a phrase John used for the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism.  Brood means "offspring," indicating their deception and malice, and it's also an image of being under the influence of Satan.  John also said, "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  See Matthew 3:7-10.  Jesus will use the expression "Brood of vipers" for them again in Matthew 23:33.

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  My study Bible comments that the heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  When God's grace permeates the heart, it says, grace masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  On the other hand, when malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion.  

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  My study Bible remarks that after so many signs, the Pharisees show their wickedness by demanding yet another.  Jesus does not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent.  The only sign to them will be His Passion and Resurrection.  In the story of the prophet Jonah, we read of his being swallowed up for three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, as well as the men of Nineveh who practiced repentance at Jonah's preaching.  (See Jonah 1-4.)   Jonah's experience in the belly of the fish is used here as an image of Christ's experience of death and Resurrection.  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba, who did indeed come from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon (see 1 Kings 10:1-13).  Adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration which the prophets used for Israel, when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 2; Hosea 2:2-13).  

The things Jesus says in today's reading are highly related for us to His admonition in yesterday's reading about the Holy Spirit.  All of the works to which He refers, whether or not He speaks of His own "signs" or mighty works, or the wisdom of Solomon and the preaching of Jonah, are all signs of the Kingdom, and especially the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.  When Jesus cites the Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh, He speaks of those in the spiritual history contained in the Old Testament Scripture who were able to see, to repent, and to have faith at the signs that were given to them.  The Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh grasped the reality of God at work in their presence.  But the scribes and Pharisees, those whom Jesus calls the "brood of vipers" are incapable of this understanding and recognition.  Through their own hardness of heart, their own lack of desire to recognize any authority in Jesus which would in some way upset their own, they fail to do what those foreigners had done.  They deride Jesus and His works, they declare them to be works of the devil, and they demand signs as proofs before they will recognize any authority in Him as being from God or done by the Spirit of God (see yesterday's reading, above).  We hear Jesus speak of those in the past who were capable of recognizing God at work in the world through the prophecy of Jonah or the wisdom of Solomon.  We hear Him condemn those of His time who fail to recognize anything that He does, although they are the religious leaders and experts in Scripture.  But this passage invites us to ask ourselves if we can recognize the work of God in our midst, in our lives.  Can we perceive the Spirit at work?  Do we understand how grace can be at work in us?  Can we recognize the work of the Spirit of God in others?  Can we perceive it in Scripture or other works?  Do we know the saints?  These remain  living questions for us.  Let us hear in the words of Christ His burning and vibrant call.  We are to guard our hearts, and lay down firm foundations through prayer, study, participation in the life He offers.  In this way we will have "good treasure" from which we can draw forth good things, and recognize also "good treasure"  in what we may see and hear.  A good heart, as Jesus says, may also speak that which is given by grace.  

Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down

 

 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.' "

 

- Luke 13:1–9 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to the disciples, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how it is you do not discern this time?  Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite." 

 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  My study bible informs us that these are two historical incidents, which are only reported in Luke.  The slain Galileans were most likely Zealots, Jewish nationalists, who triggered a disturbance against the Romans.  The collapse of the tower in Siloam, whether by accident or sabotage, was thought to be divine justice on sinners.  My study bible points out that Christ denies this suffering was God's judgment.  Instead, Jesus uses these events as illustrations for those who perish because they will not repent, building on His statements at the end of yesterday's reading in the same discourse (see above). 

He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.' "  This fruitless fig tree is universally understood in the Church to be fallen humanity.  The three years, my study bible says, represent God's covenants with God's people through Abraham, Moses, and Christ, each of whom are rejected, as well as the three-year earthly ministry of Christ.  The keeper of the vineyard is Christ Himself.  He intercedes on our behalf by suffering His Passion, and sending the Holy Spirit to us before the final judgment takes place.  

Jesus continues to build on His statement from Thursday's reading, "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"  This is not to emphasize fear itself, but rather to emphasize the central importance of the first great commandment, as He has named it:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  To place God centrally in life, as the focus around which one gathers one's life, is the whole point of Jesus' reiterated teachings in the readings from yesterday and today.  It really little matters what else we concern ourselves about, whether it is gathering up food for the future, or storing money, or clothing.  It doesn't matter if we are concerned about the evils we think we see about us and consider to be beneath us.  If we don't have the conscious awareness of God placed centrally within our own understanding of what guides our own conduct -- including sins large and small -- then we're equally in danger of losing our chance at living in this Kingdom and especially the eternal life that Christ offers.  In other words, whatever else it is we think about, we need to keep this one constant focus centrally in mind.  Everything depends upon our own communion with God.  We don't compare ourselves with the rest of the world to get the true picture of the focus we need to have, no matter what else is going on, and no matter what others are doing.  He goes through all these illustrations of worldly calamity, terror, human needs, and all the rest simply to emphasize this one strong point:  each of our lives needs to be focused around how we serve God, what we need to do for the strength and depth of our relationship with God, and how we constantly participate as disciples within that communion.  This is the one true central thing we always have to keep in mind above every other concern, and midst all others.  Jesus reminds every one of His disciples of the tremendously greater loss that comes from lack of concern and awareness of strengthening and deepening our relationship to God.  Judgment is mentioned in this context to reinforce the importance and value of the great gift of life offered to all who participate in the Kingdom, and to the tremendous loss of that gift that can result from a lack of priority or understanding of the importance of the spiritual life.  That is, we need to get right with God, no matter what we think we've already done, no matter what we see others doing.  This is because the gift we receive from this communion is so much greater than any other goals we can ponder.  In the final paragraph, He emphasizes one thing that He has reiterated again and again, the importance of bearing spiritual fruit.  Whether we are the servants in the household who remain alert and awake for our Master's return or we are those who are stewards and must administer with mercy over our fellow servants (see Saturday's reading), whether we are anxious and concerned with our worldly goods and needs (see Friday's reading), whether we're worried about the conflicts or upset with those around us via our choice for discipleship to Christ (yesterday's reading, above), our chief concern really needs to be with bearing the spiritual fruit that God looks for and that Christ stresses so strongly.  That fruit is the product of our own practices of mercy, generosity, or care that we practice as disciples, and the corrections for our own varieties of selfishness or sins that the communion with God makes us aware of.  There is so much to receive in this Kingdom which blesses us, including the grace of God which enables us to become much more than we think possible and to grow in our faith.  Jesus keeps emphasizing this one thing necessary, this desire to serve and please God by living the life of faithfulness, that nothing else is more important or essential.  We stand to lose so much when we lose sight of it.  Let us keep our focus where it must be.  Let us bear the fruit so carefully nurtured by Christ, and passionately tended with such a depth of sacrifice.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see, 

And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 

- Luke 8:1–15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And he went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

  Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.   These women mentioned here by Luke would prove to be faithful to Christ until the end (23:49, 55).  They were the first to receive and to proclaim the news of Christ's Resurrection (24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, my study bible says, seven frequently symbolizes totality and completeness, here indicating that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  Jesus begins speaking in parables here in Luke's Gospel.  As in the Gospel of Matthew, He begins with the parable of the Sower.  Note that regarding this "new" mode of preaching in parables, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9.   On today's entire passage, my study bible comments that, as the sower in the parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 55:10-13.  It says that while some suggest that a person is permanently saved from the moment there is a profession of faith -- and this is a view that was never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Jesus is clear from the parable that some may believe for a while and then fall away.  When Jesus speaks of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, He isn't speaking about obscure intellectual concepts, but rather the presence of the kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  My study bible says that a person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom teaches, "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, God does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."

With this step in His ministry, where Christ has preached extensively throughout Galilee, and now there are greater crowds which are gathered to Him (a great multitude), He begins to teach in parables.  Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" bringing to mind Isaiah's language regarding a particular capacity to hear the words of the prophet, the call of the Lord.  As my study bible suggests, there is a kind of talent (if we can put it that way) or capacity which lies within each of us, but it may be dormant due to lack of use or lack of care.  The parables are designed to provoke a response from those whose capacity for hearing is not shut out or stopped up, for those in the crowds who really desire what Christ offers.  Of course, in the Gospel, we reach Christ's private explanation to His disciples.  Perhaps what is most striking about Jesus' explanations -- regarding those by the wayside who hear, but then the devil snatches the word out of their hearts, or those on the rock who  receive the word with joy, but have no root and so fall away in a time of temptation, or the ones falling among thorns are those choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and so bring no fruit to maturity --  is just that all of these things can be part of the struggle with faith at any time.  That is, these different failings of faith can be part of the journey at any time -- they may come to trip us up.  They are not, as they might appear, three separate groups of people, but rather different times of hearing the word, different possibilities that come up.  We can at any time find ourselves choked with the cares of the world.  Or possibly there is the evil one at work who desires that we might not be saved.  We might spend too much time obsessing about riches or pleasures to heed what Christ would sow in the heart, or our own shallowness renders us unrooted and easily swayed off course.  But to bear good spiritual fruit, He is clear, takes a consistent sort of rootedness, and, we can infer, a way to constantly make certain that our soil is in good shape -- healthy and weeded, properly watered, nurtured with all that it needs, with stones plucked out and possibly new topsoil when necessary, and all the things we can understand about what it takes to make things grow and to produce good fruit.  Each of these things can be clear metaphors for different times of our lives, and there is good reason why so many of Christ's parables focus on common themes of farming that were known to all people.  Anyone with a garden who has tried to coax good growth can also understand -- even that there are times to prune back what hasn't worked, so our "tree" has more energy it can devote to flowers and fruitfulness.  There are any number of ways that Christ would offer to us through this parable to understand a picture of what it means to be on our own journey of faith, cultivating our garden, growing whatever it is that He has given us to grow and to tend.  But it all takes focus, purpose, care, and a steady devotion to the things we really need to pursue.  It requires a constant state of attention, and nurturing as well through the Word and the influence of the Spirit, the tending of the heart.  Let us note in this context the passage on the faithful women, who travel with His ministry from Galilee, "nurturing" through their own means this growth, and will stay steady, faithful, supportive throughout -- and play such a vitally important role in the Resurrection.  They give us an important picture of the journey of faith:  of constant support, vigilance, and simply staying by rooted where they are supposed to be, indispensable to the fullness of Easter.  Let us pay attention, and be like them, the ones who hear the good news.

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

St. Photini speaks with Christ at Jacob's well.  Manuel Panselinos, c. 1300; fresco.  Protaton Church, Karyes settlement, Mt. Athos, Greece

And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the man, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

- John 4:27-42

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"    The disciples marveled not only that Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, but also that He spoke with an unaccompanied woman, something which was potentially scandalous.  My study bible refers us to further instances John's Gospel gives us of Christ's dealings with women:  7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18 (see also Luke 8:1-3).

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the man, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  This Samaritan woman becomes an early evangelist, as she testifies to the advent of Christ, and also brings others to Him (see the last verses of today's reading).  According to an early tradition, my study bible tells us, after the Resurrection she was baptized with the name Photini, which in Greek means "the enlightened one."  Along with her two sons and five daughters, she went to Carthage to spread the Gospel.  Eventually she was martyred with her family under the emperor Nero by being thrown into a well.

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  Here is another incident in which Jesus uses a metaphor, and misunderstandings serve for gradual illumination of His expressions and teachings.  My study bible says that He fulfills His role as Messiah by doing the will of the Father.  Therefore this is His food.  It also teaches us that we are to perform the will of God in our lives without being distracted by earthly cares (6:27; see also Matthew 4:4, 6:25-33).

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Jesus' command to look was given because the Samaritan townspeople were approaching, ready and eager to believe in Him.  Christ compares these foreigners (relative to the Jews) to fields ready for harvest.  This command, my study bible adds, is also to all believers to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone who wants to hear it, regardless of race or ethnicity.

"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  Again, according to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, those who sow and those who reap are, respectively, the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles.  The prophets, my study bible says, sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, but they did not see Christ's coming and thus did not reap.  The apostles did not do the preparation, but they will draw thousands to Christ in their own lifetimes.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."  My study bible comments that the fact that these foreigners are among the first to recognize Jesus as the Savior of the world is evidence that the gospel is for all people in every nation.

The story of Christ's ministry is all the more interesting because of its seemingly meandering unfolding.  It's almost as if the ways in which it expands, and the surprising ways in which people open up to the Gospel, are all unexpected.  Certainly for the disciples, this opening up to the Samaritans must have been a complete surprise, even possibly a kind of a shock.  When they are set out on their first apostolic mission, Jesus tells them neither to go to the Gentiles nor the Samaritans, but "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6).  But here, because they are passing through Samaria on their way to Galilee, Jesus has taken the strange and unusual opportunity to speak alone with this Samaritan woman alone at Jacob's well, and she has brought an entire town to faith through listening to His word.  The Gospel opens up in strange ways and at strange intervals, always surprising.  When we forget about this surprising nature of faith, and the surprising nature of the work of God in the world, we lose our sense of mystery and that dimension of understanding that is so necessary to knowing what we are about.  While we might have great evil in the world, and experience hurt and hardship and the sadness of pain in the world, there are also moments of great beauty and insight, times when the truth will surprise us.  Suddenly there are things that bloom and unfold like flowers that blossom unexpectedly.  New developments shatter the assumptions of the past, and open up and broaden the word of God to shed new light on its facets and greater aspects than those to which we were already accustomed.   This is the surprising way of the new covenant that unfolds as Jesus' ministry in the world, and it might also be the surprising way in which faith also works in our own lives and through the journey of our own way of following Him.  Our faith can't be bottled into easy formulas, because the mystical reality of God is always present and at work.  Jesus says to Nicodemus of the Holy Spirit:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (3:8).  Let us note Christ's words:  "So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Our own baptism is a type of "sign" that opens up new worlds of creativity, insight, wisdom, and the work of God in us.  This is the way of the Holy Spirit, and these Samaritan believers are a part of that harvest of God's work in the world to which Jesus introduces His disciples in today's reading.  How are the fields ripe for harvest in your life?  Is there a surprising way to go forward that opens up for you?  While some doors close, Christ always finds a new and surprising way to go forward.  So is God's work in our own lives.  Let us bear in mind that, like the disciples, we are laborers for that harvest, and there is always work before us.  We need simply open our eyes, as does St. Photini.