Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid

 

 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

 

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick  to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

- Mark 6:47-56 

 

Yesterday we read that, upon returning from their first mission, the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

  Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.    My study Bible comments that this is the second time Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see this reading).  The first time He was with them; here He had left them alone.  In this way, my study Bible says, 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 to "I Am" (in the Greek of the Septuagint and the New Testament Εγω ειμι/Ego eimi).  This is the divine Name of God (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).  In this way. He reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

 

 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  The loaves refers to the feeding in the wilderness, as reported in yesterday's reading (see above).  My study Bible comments on this verse that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not merely the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it says, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."

 

 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick  to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.   Here Jesus and the disciples return back across the Sea of Galilee again, to an area near their "home base" of Capernaum, known for its abundance of fishing and agriculture.  (Gennesaret means "Garden of the Prince.") Thus, the people recognized Him.  My study Bible notes that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life-giving.  See also Mark 5:25-29.

 

 It's interesting that Jesus and the disciples go to a place called Gennesaret, which means "Garden of the Prince" (or possibly "Princely Gardens").  As mentioned above, this area on the Sea of Galilee was well-known for its exceptional fertility in both fishing and agriculture.  Such great abundance seems present in the action of the people in receiving Jesus.  We're told that they ran through that whole surrounding region, even carrying on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  This is not Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, in which He was rejected such that even He marveled, and could do no "mighty works" because of their unbelief (see Tuesday's reading).  This is not the country of the Gadarenes, where the people beg Jesus to leave, so frightened are they at the healing of a man with a legion of demons, while their herd of swine perished running to their deaths (see Saturday's reading).  Here in this fertile "garden of the Prince" the entire region produces a tremendous harvest of faith.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.  That "as many as touched Him were made well" is a sign that faith was strong and prevalent, because it is faith that allows Jesus to heal, that enables His power to work in human beings.  It's interesting that the Gospels unveil small secrets to us like this one hidden in the meaning of the word that is the title of this region on the Sea of Galilee.  Nothing seems to be included by accident, and, once again, like the mustard seed, the tiniest detail tells us a great part of a story.  We can contrast this response in Gennesaret with the fear of the apostles while they were on the water and in the midst of the storm.  Once again, let us remember that at least four of these men (which included those who would become leaders among them) were fishermen by trade, who grew up operating on the Sea of Galilee.  But at the fourth watch of the night (that is, approximately 3:00 AM), with the wind against them, and having a vision of Jesus walking on the water, all kinds of things may happen.  It is just the time and circumstance when our fears might be most exacerbated.  In the chaos of a storm and the darkness of the tumultuous waters raised by the wind against them, fears are going to be heightened to the extent that even Christ coming to us may seem like a frightening sight.  Jesus tells them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  "Be of good cheer" is the translation of a word that means to take heart, to be brave, to have courage.  For this is what Christ's presence radiates to us, and His strength that is necessary for us.  Clearly St. Mark, the author of the Gospel, wants to emphasize the disciples own lack of faith at work here, for he tells us they were "hard-hearted."  That is, they had not opened their hearts to the understanding of the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  Somehow the hardened heart is involved in both lacking courage and the failure of faith.  So let us take confidence in Him when we have fears, and faith that we might produce abundance of spiritual fruit; for this is the promise of the Prince, our Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

 

 Now 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 hard 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.

 

- Mark 10:46-52 

 

Yesterday Jesus and the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."   And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

  Now 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 hard 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.  My study Bible comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign which was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), a power which God had reserved for God alone (compare John 9:32).  Son of David is a messianic title, and his use of this title shows that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ.  There's a spiritual interpretation to this miracle in patristic commentary also.  Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  Here, Jericho symbolizes fallen humanity.  So, therefore, Christ passing through Jericho becomes an image of His Incarnation in the world.  The Lord restoring sight to Bartimaeus parallels Christ's restoring humanity to glory.  Having been made whole by Christ, my study Bible says, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11).  

 

The restoration of sight in many ways parallels the salvation of a soul.  In the restoration of sight to a person, it is said that light is allowed once again to enter the eyes; and indeed, to perceive anything by sight in the world, it is necessary that we are able to take in the reflection of light particles on those objects.  As Christ is the Light (John 1:4-5), so as His followers we need His light in order to receive our spiritual sight, so that we may perceive what truly is and know the way that we are going in life.   Also in St. John's Gospel, after His final entry into Jerusalem, Jesus says in front of the people, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  In this He is clearly referring to Himself as the light, who goes to the Cross, and so will be with them in the flesh yet a little while longer.  In the Creed, we call Christ "Light from Light, true God of true God."  So this metaphor -- seen as icon or image -- of Bartimaeus receiving his sight from Christ in Jericho becomes the powerful image of our salvation.  In some ways, we are all like blind Bartimaeus.  That is, none of us sees with the full sight of God, of Christ.  There are all kinds of things that remain mystical and secret, hidden from us.  But they are things that belong to the kingdom of God, and thus are things for which salvation prepares us, as we may walk toward union with Christ in its fullness.  Therefore, the road of salvation remains for all of us, even the greatest saints, and throughout our lives, for there is always something we don't yet know, can't yet see, for which the road of Christ beckons us forward.  Bartimaeus shows wisdom in his title for Jesus, Son of David, for he perceives that Jesus is the One who can give him his sight.  And once again in the Gospel of St. Mark, we observe that it is this capacity to use our voices and express ourselves, to call out to Christ, that is necessary in salvation -- either by ourselves or by others on our behalf.  For this is prayer; it is pleading.  In freedom, Christ beckons to Bartimaeus and asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  And we are given that blessed freedom by God to speak and to ask, to commune with our Creator.   This is also the light:  that Christ wants us to speak with Him, gives us that freedom to do so, and desires to be with us in His Incarnation, and afterward (Matthew 18:20).  For even in the midst of sin and darkness (as symbolized by Jericho), we are with the light, we may feel His presence and know Him and speak to Him and ask of Him.  For His light, even in the darkness, shines for us, no matter where the road may go, even if we're in the midst of those who cannot see (John 1:5).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid

 

 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. 

 

 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

- Mark 6:47–56 

 

Yesterday we read that the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught on their first apostolic journey.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something  to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go  before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  

 

  Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  This is the second time that Christ permits the disciples to be caught in a storm (see this reading).  The first time He was with them, but asleep in the stern of the boat.  Here, He's sent them across the sea, while He went to the mountain to pray (see yesterday's reading, above).  Leaving them alone this time, my study Bible says, is a way of strengthening their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.  We note that it was only recently that they have returned from their first apostolic mission (again, see above), and so it is easy to understand that Christ is preparing them for their future.  "It is I" is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (see John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).  According to my study Bible, He is reminding the fearful disciples that He has absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

 

 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened. According to my study Bible, knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply the intellect.  It says that when our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."

 

  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.  My study Bible comments that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life-giving (see also the story of the woman with the blood flow, Mark 5:25-29).  Consider also that in yesterday's reading, we read of the feeding of the five thousand, prefiguring the Eucharist to come, the gift of Christ's Body and Blood.

 

 Jesus repeatedly teaches in the Gospels that His is the path we need.  He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  Elsewhere He teaches, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  In John 10:9, Jesus declares, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).   Each of these sayings points in the direction of a close following of Christ, a path that is narrow and well-defined by faith in Him.  This is, essentially, discipleship, a close following of Christ, step by step as we advance into a deeper, fuller faith, and more reliance upon Him.  And this is what the disciples experience as they continue with Him.  We've already seen the Twelve chosen to become the first apostles, and them sent out on their first apostolic mission (see Saturday's reading).  In every careful step of the way for these disciples, Jesus has taught them what He wants.  They have learned from Him by living with Him, hearing Him preach, experiencing His ministry, receiving His instructions.  As my study Bible says above, today's reading is not the first time these disciples have been frightened by a storm on the Sea of Galilee, following His instructions to cross over.  Even these experienced fishermen felt frightened for their lives the first time this happened, although He was with them, but sleeping.  But this time, they are on their own, and they're struggling, straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  The text tells us that about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  The "fourth watch of the night" is three o'clock in the morning, and we can just imagine what a frightening time this was under these circumstances!  Walking to them on the water, they imagine Christ to be a ghost!  But all of this is in preparation for something.  For the particular path that Christ "walks" them on is one that is given in order to help them to become something essential to the Kingdom and to the Church to come -- for they will carry the newfound Church on their shoulders into the world, a very hostile world through martyrdom and exile in the future.  We might consider such a dangerous and enormously significant mission to be something fearful or burdensome.  But it is a mission of the highest significance, the greatest bravery, the deepest sacrifice, and we know of no other powerful mission with such an established and far-reaching outcome.  For all of us are on this mission of securing the Kingdom and the Church in the world, but Christ prepares a particular path for each of us on this "road" (or "way") that He has for us.  In the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, Christ expresses the understanding of this contribution.  Each worker, without regard for how long or how short the duration of their labor, receives the same reward.  This makes sense if every unique contribution is necessary to the project.  Each of us has a narrow way, a particular mission to follow, depending on how we're meant to serve that Kingdom and our Lord.  When we go through challenges and difficulties, when we're asked to make sacrifices, we don't always know why -- just as these disciples turned apostles in today's reading don't really know at this stage why He's sent them alone across the Sea of Galilee, and into such a frightening storm.  But there He is, our answer to all things:  "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   Perhaps none of us knows what we're being prepared for, especially in the fullness of time and of the eternity beyond, and the fullness of the knowledge of Christ and who we are in His eyes.  If our hearts are hardened to Christ's activity and work, we might never understand.  But we're all becoming, and He is the One who shows us the way, in His plan of salvation for the entire cosmos, for the life of the world.

 

 

 

 

Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace

 

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  

 

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  

 

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. 

 

- Luke 8:40–56 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that he would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And he got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 

 

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Here Jesus returns to the "home country" of His ministry, having returned from the country of the Gadarenes (see yesterday's reading, above).   After healing a man oppressed by a legion of demons there in that country across the Sea of Galilee, the people there begged Him to leave them.  Here He returns to crowds who welcomed Him, as they were all waiting for Him.  Among them also is a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, Jairus, who seeks Jesus out as his young daughter is dying. 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).  

 

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  My study Bible comments here that for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 15:19-27).  This woman displays bold faith as she approaches both Christ and also Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, in a crowd, thereby potentially defiling all of them and subjecting herself to ridicule. 

 

And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."   My study Bible notes that Christ's question, "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch, but rather, "Who touched me in faith?"  It comments that, just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation; the power of Christ works even through His garment.  To touch Christ's garment in faith, therefore, is to touch Him.  In the Church, my study Bible says, we touch Christ through icons, oil, water, bread wine, etc.  When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received.  Jesus calls this woman forward to take away her fear and trembling, to bring her good cheer because of her faith, to correct her thinking that she could hide her touch from Him, to dispel the idea that she is excluded from Him due to her illness -- and also to exhibit her faith to all, so they might imitate her.

 

 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  but when Jesus heard it, He answered hi, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  Note the trouble that Jesus takes to shore up faith.  First, He has made an example of the woman healed because of her faith, which would strengthen Jairus for the news of his daughter's death.  Second, He tells Jairus, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  Then He permitted no one to come in to the house except His three closest disciples (those strongest in faith), Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  All those who weep and mourn and ridicule Him for saying that she is not dead, but sleeping, He puts outside.  It's only after all of this that He takes the girl by her hand, and tells her, "Little girl, arise."   

 

There are interesting parallels between this little girl and the older woman with the blood flow.  The girl is inside the house, and needs even to be further separated from the "crowds" and company all around her in order to strengthen the faith of her parents enough so that Jesus can truly heal her.  The woman with the blood flow wades through the crowds who throng Jesus so that He has no idea who touched Him, but in secret she reaches for His hem through that crowd, and He feels His healing power go from Him, due to her faith.  "Your faith has made you well," Jesus tells her.  The girl is twelve years old, and the woman has had a blood flow for twelve years.  The woman is presumably past the point of childbearing, and has spent all her livelihood on physicians to no avail; Jairus' daughter is just on the cusp of maturity and eligibility for marriage and her future.  But both stories share in common a kind of protective bubble of faith around the recipients of Christ's healing, old and young woman alike.  The secret and hidden nature Christ requires for the girl's healing (to protect her from the ridiculing and wailing crowds) is in a sense similar to this woman anonymously coming through the crowd to touch Jesus.  Had she consulted others -- particularly a whole crowd or community -- about approaching Jesus they would have been appalled at the suggestion; she could theoretically "pollute" all of them with her blood flow.  So, in both cases, secrecy and privacy, used to empower and protect faith from those who would tear it down, become important tools to reach God, and to reach the healing of God.  One thinks of the privacy of a confessional (or for that matter the confidentiality of a doctor's office or other professional), necessary for a therapeutic approach for people with problems.  Solitude for prayer is often a must, for it is in solitude we find those voices and ridiculing crowds cannot reach us as easily as otherwise.  It is often that we need time alone with God, or to restrict our spiritual surroundings to those that shore up faith in order to find the place where our prayers are effective, where God can be reached and we are healed.  We seek a little solace in a crowd with silent prayer, or perhaps the comfort of a church pew surrounded by those who come to worship in a liturgy.  We might light a candle before an icon, or take the time before bed to sit in prayer.  All of these things are ways in which the power of our prayer reaches in to help us heal, to know that we talk with God and are heard, to be soothed and comforted -- with the jostling, ridiculing, carping crowds far away.  Let us cherish that privacy and put it to go use, for so our Lord does also.  Faith is not found in great clamorous groups and excited crowds, otherwise Christ's miracles would have abounded upon demand by those who didn't believe.  Let us take this to heart, and remember the woman with the gumption to reach through the crowd in secret, the little girl whose parents needed to be separate from friends and crowds to help heal her, and mostly the Man who praises and preserves and protects our faith. 

 

 

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world

 

 "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what he is saying."  

 

Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 

"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and I have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."  His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

- John 16:16–33 

 

Beginning with Monday's reading and commentary, we have been reading through Jesus' Farewell Discourse to the apostles, which He spoke at the Last Supper just prior to His arrest.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said to them, "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.  But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.  But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

 

  "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what he is saying."  My study Bible tells us that the first little while refers to Christ's arrest, death, and burial.  The second is His time in the tomb until Christ's Resurrection.  

Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."  My study Bible indicates that when Jesus speaks of a woman who no longer remembers her birth pangs, it does not imply that the faithful are to forget the Passion and Cross of Christ, any more than a woman forgets her labor.  But what is true is that we see those sufferings in light of the victory of the Resurrection, and this victory transfigures our perception of sufferings.  Christ's victory, my study Bible says, allows us to rejoice in anguish because of the infinitely greater good that comes from it (Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:10).  

"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father."  My study Bible notes that the time when Christ would speak plainly about the Father was during the forty days which followed the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).   

"In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and I have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."  His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  My study Bible tells us that we know prayer is offered in the name of God the Father, for Christ taught us to pray that way (Matthew 6:9), and He Himself prayed to the Father (John 11:41; 12:28; 17:1).  In Christ, it notes, we have direct access to the Father, and so therefore we pray in the name of the Son as well (John 14:13-14).  After Pentecost, my study Bible continues, we learn that the Holy Spirit Himself "makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:26), and we are instructed to pray always "in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18).  Orthodox Christians pray continually and with confidence to all three Persons of the Trinity, "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

 

 Jesus says to the disciples, "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."  This brilliant image, of a woman in pain and travail from labor, serves us as perhaps the best way of understanding the power and impact of the Cross, death, and Resurrection.  A dear friend who is a priest once counseled me when I was speaking to him of a very painful problem.  I told him without thinking, "I feel like I'm being crucified."  He responded to tell me that it's good I said I was being crucified, "because after Crucifixion comes Resurrection."  He was so right, and it was possibly the best words of counseling I have ever received in my life, because it utterly shifted my focus to my faith and the promise of our faith.  Even though Jesus had prophesied all that was going to happen, including His rising on the third day, the events of the Resurrection and the entire history of the Church that has followed could be foreseen explicitly by no one.  We don't know what Resurrection will look like.  We don't know that all our desires will be fulfilled, that we won't lose what is precious to us.  But we always know there will be a resurrection in all kinds of forms in our own lives when we suffer a loss or distress, because Christ's Resurrection promises this to us through our faith.  We live His life by abiding in Him, and therefore His Resurrection also abides in us and is at work in us.  Of this reality, we must not doubt, should never lose faith or heart.  If we can but accept the possibilities of God, there is always the potential for every circumstance -- any circumstance -- to be transfigured, made into something else, through our faith.  There is always a Resurrection.  Perhaps many followers of Christ would have said that they would have preferred Jesus to remain in the flesh -- and we know Jesus' response to St. Peter when he rebuked Jesus regarding the Crucifixion ("Get behind Me, Satan!"; see Matthew 16:22-23).  But God has the bigger, more important, eternal perspective and vision, and we just don't know all the promises of Resurrection looks like, both in our world and its history, and in the microcosm of our own lives as faithful.  But let us take faith in this, that living His commandments (loving Christ, as He has taught), abiding in Him, means that we also may suffer tribulation and difficulty.  However, it also guarantees us Resurrection, in one form or another, and to this we cling.  In this, our suffering is transfigured, for we have faith and we have hope and we also have knowledge of this truth.  My study Bible cites St. Paul above, from the Letter to the Romans:  "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).  These realizations, this recognition of what even is possible to acquire through suffering, give us a transfigured life, and a sense of what it is to experience a resurrection after crucifixion, in any form.  We have hope, as St. Paul says, as a gift of the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  On this we can count.  Let us depend on that hope, and persevere to abide in His love through all things.  Finally, we have Jesus' last words to them:  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

It is I; do not be afraid

 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well. 

 

- Mark 6:47–56 

 

Yesterday we read that, upon return from their first apostolic mission, the Twelve gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what the had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  My study Bible comments that this is the second time Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see this reading for the first).  The first time He was with them, asleep on a pillow in the stern.  But this time He has left them to row across the sea, while He was alone on the land where He remained behind to pray.  In this way, my study Bible says, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the middle of the storms of life.  It is I (Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi) is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God given to Moses at the Burning Bush (see John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).  In this way Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  Their heart was hardened:  My study Bible tells us that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it notes, they are open to receive His presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.  Again, Christ heals by touch.  My study Bible comments that this shows that His very body is life-giving (see also Mark 5:25-29).  

In today's reading, Jesus reveals His identity as Lord through the use of the Name of God given to Moses, the "I Am."  In the Greek of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, and the Greek of the New Testament, these are the same.  It clearly ties Christ to the divine identity we know as the Son of God, or God the Son, second Person of the Trinity.  But it also ties Christ to God the Father.  In the Nicene Creed, we state our belief "in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made."  So close are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that they act as one.  In today's reading, Jesus affirms that union through His use of the title "I Am" (translated in today's reading as "It is I") and His mastery over the elements of nature tell us so as well.  Also tellingly, Jesus walks across the sea from the place where He had stayed behind, sending the apostles by themselves to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while He stayed on the mountain to pray (see yesterday's reading, above).  There Jesus turns to the Father, after feeding the multitude in the wilderness (again, see yesterday's reading), and we can see that this has become a clear turning point of His earthly ministry.  For in that feeding in the wilderness is the prefiguring of the Eucharist to come, which is irrevocably tied to the sacrifice that Christ will make on the Cross.  At all points, Christ the Son is working in tandem with God the Father, just as at the creation He did the same, and cooperating, as the human Jesus, with that will of the Father as one.  Powerfully, there are places in the Gospels where we find that, although the Father is possibly the most mysterious of the Trinity to us (as Jesus the Son is our mediator, for He lived as one of us, and the Holy Spirit's actions and mercies are known in the world), God the Father is shown to be active and in communion with us.  When St. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of the living God, according to St. Matthew, Jesus replied to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  So, in a sense, God is "all in all" (as St. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:28), including in us.  Elsewhere Jesus teaches, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  Christ's miracles of touch, of the domination of natural forces like the sea and the wind, His use of the Name "I Am," and His prayer to God the Father, all tell us about the integral play of the greatest mystery of all to us, God the Father, united to us and to our world through Jesus.  As we read through St. Mark's Gospel, let us come to terms with the powerful reality being revealed to us through the life of Christ, and that purpose toward which it works to bring God as "all in all," including in us.  Let us not minimize the power of prayer, and of our faith, for it links us to the greatest heights of God who seeks to be in communion with us -- so much so that God's only begotten Son was given to us as Jesus, to live and die as one of us, to suffer with us, and to reclaim us for God.  Above all, it is the compassion of God we take with us, as we see in Christ's healing and redemption of ailing humanity, giving not just a temporary physical healing but an eternal life as possibility for us.  For when we imitate Him, in prayer to God Our Father, when we read and study the Scriptures, when we walk and pray with the saints, when we call on the Son and the Holy Spirit, even when we choose an act of compassion, we participate in those energies of God which Christ puts on display and manifests, so that we may also be "sons of God."  Jesus teaches the disciples, "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me" (Matthew 10:40).  Let us remember that He came so that God would be all in all, and to leave none of us behind.  For, like the apostles, even when we seem to be alone, He is with us. 

Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well

 

 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

 

- Matthew 9:18-26 

 

Yesterday we read that, passing on from healing a paralytic, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  

 

  While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  My study Bible comments here that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Christ is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  The healing of the woman with the blood flow is an expression of Christ's power to cleanse and to heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).  In the Old Testament, my study Bible explains, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions, as contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  Even though this woman, having suffered so long, accounts herself as unclean, she nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus brings her good cheer because of her faith, and also corrects her thinking.  She could neither hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Finally, He exhibits her faith to all, so that they might imitate her.  

What are we to make of this woman who has suffered so long (twelve years) with a flow of blood, a hemorrhage?  Twelve is a significant number in the Bible; there are twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the sons and grandsons of Jacob, also named Israel.  There are twelve disciples named by Jesus who will go on to found His Church and its bishops who descend from them.  Twelve is a type of building block of time, as there are twelve months to the year.  So this number of the years of her suffering defines her in a way, in this sense of her shame and uncleanness, and her lack of healing.  But encountering Christ does something entirely different for her than anything she has known.  In St. Luke's Gospel, she has "spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any" (Luke 8:43).  Everything she knows or understands has in some sense sentenced her to this life as one who is unclean and cannot be helped, her suffering and isolated status unalleviated by anything she knows.  But here is Jesus in Capernaum in the crowd, approached by Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, who seeks help for his daughter (in St. Luke's version, she is also twelve years old), and although the woman according to the law is unclean because of her flow of blood, nevertheless she approaches Christ with great faith.  What we notice is that her faith enabled her even to run the risk of being caught in this crowd, also forbidden to her in the law as she would have been excluded from community.  But let us observe that there is a sense in which Christ's healing power works seemingly despite Himself; He does not see this woman, but power goes out of Him to heal nonetheless in response to her faithful touch.  That faith of hers connects with Christ as Son, with the power of the divine to heal, and makes the connection.  Again, in St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus asks, "Who touched Me?"  (Luke 8:45).  Thus far in St. Matthew's Gospel we have had several occasions to ponder the Lord's ultimately healing aim in all things, whether we speak of the Law or the many teachings and healings of Jesus in the New Testament.  But here He affirms, and exhibits before the whole world, the faith that heals, that is here an essential component to healing.  We have had occasion to read of friends' faith helping to heal the paralytic, we have heard Christ referring to Himself as Physician (in yesterday's reading, above), we have seen His healing of two demon-possessed men among those without faith (see this reading), we have read of His healing of the Gentile centurion's servant, and the healing of a leper by touch (also forbidden in the Law).  All of this followed upon His teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel), showing us that in Christ there is a new birth, a renewal of all things, a New Covenant.  And all of this is true in His healing of this woman, no longer sentenced to her twelve-year identity as unclean, with an unremitting affliction casting her out of the society.  She is, instead, put on display by Christ for her exemplary faith, which He says has made her well.  Moreover, He proclaims her "daughter" in so doing.   In the Revelation, the Lord on the throne says, "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  In the Greek, we should understand that it effectively means, "I am always making all things new."  And then He adds to St. John, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."  True and faithful; these must be the themes we seek and know for today, for they are exemplified in this woman's healing, in her transformation to one returned to community and healed, in her faith to which Jesus testifies to the whole community for all of us.  Let us remember that faith is trust, and where better shall we put that trust than in Him, the faithful and true?

But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid"

 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

- Mark 6:47–56 

 

Yesterday we read that the apostles gathered to Jesus, having returned from their first apostolic mission, and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  My study Bible comments that only God has dominion over nature; therefore this miraculous even confirms the divinity of Christ.  We recall the previous time the disciples were allowed to be caught in a storm (see this reading).  On that occasion Christ was with them, but here He had left them alone.  In this way, my study Bible notes, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.  It is I can be literally translated from the Greek "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (see John 8:58).  My study Bible says that in this way, Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

 

And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  My study Bible teaches here that to know Christ is a matter of the heart, and not simply the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it says, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is understood as "the seat of knowledge."

 

 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.   Christ permits miracles through touch; we understand from this -- and also the healing of the woman with the blood flow in this reading --  that Christ's very body is life-giving.  

 

 If we take the first part of our reading for today, the story begins like a dream unfolding; or, we could say that in some sense it is reminiscent of a dream in the night.  It begins with a setting in which Jesus has stayed behind to go pray upon the mountain, while He has sent the disciples ahead of Him -- across the sea in a boat (see yesterday's reading, above).  Listen to the language of the text:  the disciples are in the boat in the middle of the sea, while Jesus is alone on the land.  Both are images of aloneness in some sense, and of being far away, even unconnected with one another.  We think of all of their activities from the previous day (again, see yesterday's reading, above), and all of the things they do always together, and now they are far apart and isolated from one another.  But Jesus, no matter where He is or how separated from them, sees what is happening with them:  He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  And here is the dream-like quality:  it's three o'clock in the morning.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  Isolated, in the deep dark of very early morning, in the middle of the Sea of Galilee with the wind against them.  This isn't a modern power boat, but an ancient which they must row across the sea.  Can we possibly imagine how frightening such a sight would appear to be?    So it is in this context we hear Jesus' words to them:  "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   The Greek that is translated as "be of good cheer" means to take heart, to be emboldened, take courage, be confident.  It is the right response to the cold feeling of aloneness in the midst of the sea and dark and wind.  The "I Am" has already been remarked upon in the note from my study Bible.  Christ's presence is the presence of the Lord, even the Lord of the Old Testament, and that presence is meant to banish fear.  In Greek the command is a plural imperative addressing them all:  "μὴ φοβεῖσθε," "don't fear," the word for fear the same root that shapes the English word "phobia."  The lesson they (and we) are to take seems to be that Christ is always watching, even when He seems to have abandoned us and is far away, even when we are separated by a great distance and by great differences of environment -- even as Christ is at the right hand of the Father while we here in the world are lost at sea in our own ways and in our own dark nights.  He is watching and His presence is with us nevertheless, just as the Lord was with Israel in the stories of the Old Testament.  We see that the text is careful to emphasize that the disciples really hadn't understood Him yet and His divine nature, for it tells us they were astonished as "their heart was hardened."  They hadn't yet understood the things of the Lord, their faith was such that is would become, and this episode is likely, of course, to have informed their future missions into the world for the Kingdom.  They've just returned from their first missionary journey, but they still have a lot to learn, as do we throughout our lives and in terms of our faith.  We don't know how the Lord is with us, and how our faith works to call the One who comes to our side (the literal meaning of the Greek word Paraclete/Παράκλητος, also translated as Advocate (1 John 2:1).  In this case, they haven't even called Him as far as we know, but His eye is on them and He comes to them to banish their fears, and to still the wind.  It's important that we understand Christ as the God who sees (Genesis 16:13) even when we feel we're alone and isolated, and that we know we must call on the Lord.  Jesus says this also of Himself in His humanity, "I am not alone, because the Father is with Me" (John 16:32).  Even in our own aloneness, let us consider the God who sees, for He is always with us to dispel our fear so we may seek His presence and His way forward for us.  I have recently listened to some statistics that stated that today's generation of younger people seem to be suffering from a greater loneliness than ever before.  Let us consider the importance of Christ's presence as an answer to today's problems for many.

 

 

And as many as touched Him were made well

 

 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well. 

 

- Mark 6:47-56 

 

Yesterday we read that the apostles, having returned from their first apostolic mission, gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

  Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. My study Bible notes that this is the second time Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see also this reading from chapter 4, for the storm that occurred on their way to the country of the Gadarenes).  That first time, He was with them, asleep in the stern of the boat.  This time, Jesus has remained behind, and was praying on the mountain (see yesterday's reading, above), while He sent the disciples back across the Sea of Galilee, alone.  My study Bible comments that in this way, 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 John 8:58, Exodus 3:14).  In this statement, my study Bible asserts, Christ is reminding His fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  The fourth watch of the night is approximately three o'clock in the morning.

And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  My study Bible comments that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply of the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive His presence and grace.  Let us think carefully about the word "faith."  In the Greek of the New Testament, it is a word that means "trust."  We therefore trust in Christ with our hearts, and this is akin to love, a loving relationship with one who has our best interest in heart.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, my study Bible reminds us, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."

 

 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well. My study Bible comments here that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life-giving.  See also the woman with the years-long flow of blood, who touched His garment in faith in Mark 5:25-29.

If we take a look at this term, the land of Gennesaret, the name significantly tells us something which can relate to the text.  In Christ's time, this was an exceptionally fertile plain, producing a great variety of crops for consumption and also wild trees and flowers.  According to the Encyclopedia of the Bible, rabbinical tradition spoke of this plain as "the garden of God: and a "paradise."  Moreover, the first syllable of Gennesaret likely comes from a word that means "gardens," with a name attached.  Some suggest its Hebrew roots may mean "princely gardens."  Whatever the correct etymology of this word, it seems likely that this tremendous flowering of Christ's ministry that happens here gives us a picture of the "garden" of Christ, our Lord.  Because of the great power of His work to heal that is on display, especially because of the faith of those who run to Him, we view the fullness of what His salvation is and means.  Earlier, Jesus spoke of Himself to the Pharisees as a Physician (see this reading from chapter 2).  When confronted by them as to why He sat at table with sinners and tax collectors, He simply replied, ""Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."   Therefore we are to understand that Christ's identity and Physician, and this work of healing -- on all levels -- is central to the understanding of salvation, of the very meaning and purpose of the Incarnation.  If all of this healing takes place in this "princely garden" of God, a sort of paradise on earth, then we are to think of our faith and the work of Christ -- indeed the work of grace through the Holy Spirit -- as that which is healing.  Repentance also is central to this work, because repentance is necessary for change and forward movement in the direction of God.  The New Testament Greek word translated as "repentance" literally means "change of mind," and this change of mind that happens through the help of grace and the work of God, and needs our assent and faith, is a healing work.  It is a healing that affects the soul and all the part of who we are in turn, on all levels.  We read the quotation Jesus gives from Isaiah, when He explains to the disciples why He speaks in parables, and it tells us, "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed" (Isaiah 6:10, referenced in Matthew 13:14-16).  Our growth in faith, our deepening reconciliation to God through this work of transformation and grace, is indeed the work of healing.  Ultimately it is our souls and spirits which are healed, but this in turn affects body, mind, emotions, and the fullness of life.  For if we are healed in faith, we rest in a kind of love and security that feeds everything else, and we receive the kind of internal healing that knits us together where we are broken, surpassing what a normal physician can do for us.  There is no doubt, in terms of scientific and medical literature, what the effects of stresses are in our lives, and faith goes directly to this level of the heart, the center of our being.  For, as my study Bible points out and the ancient tradition of the Church tells us, the heart is a matter of much more than simply an intellectual decision.  It is a place of noetic discernment and understanding, a deep center within us that links us to the grace of God.  Let us consider the importance of trust and of all of its implications.  When we read about this place of "paradise" and "princely gardens" we should remember in whose garden we wish to be, the great Physician who has what we need for our deepest ailments.   In yesterday's reading, foretelling of the Eucharist, Jesus fed five thousand men -- and more women and children -- in a deserted place, multiplying meager resources.  Let us consider that He us in ways He deems necessary for ongoing healing and growth, nurturing all that we are -- especially the way we experience and see ourselves in this world.  In times which document growing rates of anxiety and depression, the way we find healing is most important, and can have the greatest impact on our lives.