Take heed that no one deceives you

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

Yesterday we finished reading chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  The entire chapter was taken up by Jesus' final sermon, a lengthy indictment of the hypocritical ways of the scribes and Pharisees.  We began reading that sermon in Wednesday's reading.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught,  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans during the Siege of Jerusalem.  This prophesy is quite literally true; all the remains today of the temple is one retaining wall of the temple, known as the Western Wall (formerly called the Wailing Wall).  Note ways in which this prophecy is connected to Christ's condemnation of the practices of the Pharisees and scribes in yesterday's reading, above.

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that there is no precise chronology that can be determined from them (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  It notes that Christ's emphasis is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue, rather than constructing timetables of things that have not yet happened.  Here in St. Matthew's account, the end described encompasses the initial sorrows (in today's reading), and in our following readings will cover the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).  The period of the great tribulation, it is important to note, includes all of the Christian era, and is not, as some teach, limited to the final years before Christ's return. 

 

 And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  Christ warnings against deception are given the most emphasis here, stated first.  Of particular importance, my study Bible says, is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again in verses 11, and 23-27.

 

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."  My study Bible notes that the wars mentioned here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but also certainly include subsequent wars.  Wars are not a sign of the imminent end, it says, but of the opposite -- that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

 

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and indeed it has been seen that the persecutions against the Church often increase the number of those being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

 

 My study Bible comments that Jesus' most significant emphasis, in this prophecy of "end times," is a warning against deception.  As we live in an age of great manipulation of images and of information, with ever increasing development of new tools for doing so through popular communications, we should especially pay heed to such warnings.  If we as human beings and followers of Christ always needed to be on our guard against false christs and false prophets, then perhaps we need do so now and in the future more so than ever.  One can only imagine that the capacity for deception and manipulation will only grow with newer and more powerful technologies.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) our means of perception as human beings remains perhaps the same as it ever was.  We don't have automatic faculties for knowing what is true and what is phony.  Every day on popular media such as Facebook or TikTok or YouTube, one can see manipulated images created by the new versions of AI (Artificial Intelligence) software which grow exponentially with investment and development.  It seems inevitable that much of our daily business and commerce will be done through various forms of this software, even as it grows in applications for various service interfaces, including decision-making.  The point of recounting these modern phenomena is not to frighten people or make readers more worried for the future, but to point out that Christ's words and warnings about potential deception may grow in significance as we enter into the technological developments of today and the years immediately to come.  Jesus is, in this sense, more prescient than ever, and His words carry an even greater significance for us.  Our response to such phenomena requires us to hold fast to the things of faith with every effort we can muster, and this most certainly includes faith and prayer practices.  For in a world increasingly overtaken by disinformation and false stories generated for clicks and likes (and possibly through bad actors who seek to foment dissension and rancor within our societies), we truly need to hold fast to Christ's light that leads us through a world in which temptations and manipulation have always played a role as stumbling blocks for us.  We need to shore up our faith and prayer practices if only to meet the powerful tools that may mislead us in the future, into believing false things that do not serve the purposes of God, and turn us more and more against one another so that we don't see where the true interests of our faith lie, the narrow and difficult way of the Cross for us.  We need to focus on that life of the soul and the light of Christ which so eluded the Pharisees in their blindness and hypocrisy, focused so heavily on the external forces of worldly power and authority.  All of these new distractions have the effect of pulling us ever more vigorously into the world of competition and competing narratives, including by false actors who do not share our best interests, and certainly not those of community nor love as Christ would have it.  So, our response is to hold fast to things He said, and to "endure to the end" in so doing.  All of the things Christ has prophesied in today's reading are things many of us observe seemingly growing around us:  wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, earthquakes and other natural disasters, and sorrows abound.  Christians remain under persecution in various parts of the world, and this phenomenon is more frequent than most people know.  Over the past century there has been a dramatic reduction of Christian populations through persecution, especially in the Middle East (estimates claim Christians formed 20% of the population of Middle Eastern countries a century ago, down to perhaps 5% now).   Even in the nations which claim freedom of religion, those who call themselves Christians may find themselves the object of hatred.  Offenses, betrayals, hatreds seem to come up out of nowhere at times.  And this is the place where Christ says that "false prophets' can arise to deceive.  Perhaps His most ringing words for us today teach us that lawlessness will abound, and with that the love of many will grow cold.  As once-common notions of civility disintegrate, even communal understanding of the basic respect for shared humanity becomes more fragile.  We are here in the world to "endure to the end" carrying our Cross, and the light of Christ with us and within us.  Let us make every effort to do as He says, in all the ways available for our faith.   Even so, through the same technology and communications, we can see as well that the gospel of the kingdom is increasingly preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and so we go forward in His name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd

 

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

 

- Matthew 9:35—10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of demons."

 

  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  My study Bible asks us to note that here Jesus doesn't condemn sinners, instead seeing them like lost sheep, to be found and brought home.  Compassion, it notes, means "suffering with."  This quality is characteristic of our Lord.  The illustration of sheep having no shepherd is drawn from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5), and it is an accusation against the Jewish leaders.  For they are charged with the duty of shepherds, and have acted as wolves.  The same would apply to leaders of our time who forget they are shepherds of the Church.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  The harvest, according to my study Bible, suggests an abundance of people who are ready to accept the Kingdom.  Jesus is both the Sower and also the Lord of the harvest.  His disciples are not sent to sow, but to reap what the Lord had sown by the prophets (John 4:36-38).  How many are sent to harvest is less important than with what power they go into the harvest, which we will read about in the following verse, as Christ sends out the apostles.

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Disciple means "learner" (in Greek, μαθητής/mathetes), and apostle means "one sent out" (ἀπόστολος/apostolos).  We note that Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, but He performed them by His own power.  The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists; many people had more than one name.  These names in Matthew are given in pairs.  My study Bible comments that this list suggests who may have traveled together on this "first missionary journey," as Mark tells us they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

The theme of sheep and shepherds runs through the Bible.  Jesus, of course, is the good shepherd:  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).  Here in today's reading, He expresses His role as the Good Shepherd in His compassion and concern for those who are like sheep. He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  The people aren't just like sheep, they are "like sheep having no shepherd."  They are weary and scattered, and they need a Good Shepherd who can unify them and give them strength.  This is part of the role of our Good Shepherd.  It's a good clue about what constitutes real leadership that the text offers to us this insight regarding Jesus' understanding of this need of the people, and His own capacity to fill it.  What do we want from a good leader?  What inspires us to follow a good leader?  Jesus often gives courage to His followers, telling the disciples to take heart at times of fear.  He inspires with His willingness to give of Himself first.  Everything He does is for His sheep.  And He gives direction, teaching us how to live, how to go forward in life, how we must shape our lives.  He responds with teaching for those who are like sheep with no shepherd (Mark 6:34).   Christ's next action that exemplifies leadership is to take charge and send out His messengers of the Kingdom.  In tomorrow's reading we'll find His instructions for the mission.  But let us note that on this first apostolic mission He prepares them for it by giving them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  This is a power that works for the kingdom of God, and against the unclean spirits, the ones who create ailments, problems, and troubles for human beings, the forces opposed to Christ.  Like a good leader, Christ chooses those whom He will send out, His soldiers, His representatives, those whom He has trained to be like Him, and entrusted with mission to the sheep.

 

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease among the people

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 

 

- Matthew 4:18-25

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

 

  And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.   My study Bible tells us that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so they were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:35-51).  It says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" called by Christ will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.  

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study Bible asks us to note that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (see yesterday's reading, above), but only when He begins to heal and to work miracles.  This shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of His Kingdom.  It also shows Christ's concession, in the words of Theophylact, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the inconsistent multitudes. 

At this time in Israel's history, expectations of a worldly Messiah, who would deliver the people from the Romans -- like a great king in the style of David -- were very high.  So much so, that the people await one who can do what Jesus does, and be accompanied by the signs prophesied in the Scriptures.  But Jesus is not going to be that kind of worldly king or deliverer, and He comes preaching repentance.  The stage is, therefore, already set for the conflicts that will arise later on in Christ's ministry.  People will be annoyed with Him (such as in His home town of Nazareth, as His neighbors simply cannot accept this identity in the Person they know as the carpenter's son; see Matthew 13:53-58), they'll be outraged at Him, eventually His very persecution will center on this idea that He could be the Christ.  The religious leaders will claim He stands convicted of blasphemy for even answering their question about this identity (Matthew 26:63-65).  Although John the Baptist had many followers, and preached a baptism of repentance in preparation for the Messiah (see this reading), Jesus the Messiah is a completely different proposition, and the expectations for a Messiah are much more worldly than the Messiah that Christ actually is.  He does not come as a conquering king who will re-establish the kingdom of Israel, but He comes instead preaching the kingdom of heaven.  But when Jesus begins using divine power to heal, that is another matter.  These are signs of the kingdom of heaven being quite present, effecting cures prophesied for the time of the Messiah, such as in these passages from Isaiah:  "In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness" (Isaiah 29:18).  Moreover, Jesus has command over unclean spirits, and so also heals the afflictions caused by such, including torments.  This is one kind of a deliverer that makes sense, someone who can relieve people of these effects of a fallen world into which has come death and sin.  So, therefore His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  So Jesus now has followers from everywhere in the historical Jewish world, and soon even those who come as pilgrims to Jerusalem will before long be seeking Him as well.  Note that He preaches the gospel of the kingdom as He teaches in the synagogues of all Galilee.  In our next reading, Jesus will begin preaching the greatest sermon we know on the gospel of the kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount.  For now, let us consider into what world of expectations Jesus comes as a Man, One who preaches repentance and the kingdom, but also bears signs of the Messiah.  

And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. 

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, returning to Capernaum, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them al outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?  So they were offended at Him.  Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth (His own country).  My study Bible comments on this double response of being both astonished and offended is a frequent occurrence with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in His own country foreshadows His rejection by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus brothers are either children by an earlier marriage of His earthly guardian, St. Joseph, or extended family such as cousins (even today in the Middle East, "brother" is used for extended family; and there are many examples in Scripture of this use).  

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Christ could do no mighty work there in His hometown, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  My study Bible notes that while grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  Note Christ's response to His rejection:  He travels through the villages in a circuit, teaching -- and giving the word of the gospel to those who might listen and truly hear.  That "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house" is so significant, it is found in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent. Here is another important and notable response to rejection:  Christ called the twelve He had chosen from among His disciples, and began to send them out as apostles on their first missionary journey.  We observe how they are told to go out in humility:  no ostentatious clothing or possessions with them, not even extra food nor money.  They are to stay in whatever place they are first received, and not "trade up" for better accommodations.  My study Bible comments that this is so they cannot be accused of greed, and would also learn dependence upon God.  Here we also find yet another response to rejection, as taught by Christ:  they are simply to shake off the dust under their feet as a testimony against those who will not receive nor hear them.   And, like Christ, they are to move on to the next place as they fulfill their mission and their instructions.  

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. My study Bible says that anointing the sick with oil has not only medicinal value but also sacramental value as well.  As God's healing power is bestowed through creation (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15, 19:11-12), so oil is a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).

We note Jesus' response to rejection.  How powerful this is, for we understand who Christ is.  But let us note that His faith is in the power of God, and the way of the Father.  There is a plan for this world, and just how this gospel message is supposed to work. This plan is infused with mercy and with grace, for we are given time to repent, the purpose and kernel of the message that the apostles are sent out to preach, as they follow in His footsteps.  If Christ had such confidence in this power of God, in this mission of preaching to repentance, and to hearing the gospel message, then how can we not also follow in His footsteps with this kind of faith in how this is supposed to be working?  Note especially that in today's reading, we are given Jesus' response to rejection.  His preaching is powerful:  He does not mince words.  But as Son, He does not try to accumulate material power in the world to preach that message nor to impose faith by coercion.  He teaches the disciples to shake the dust from under their feet as a rebuke to those who will not receive or hear them; that is, to those who will not receive or hear the gospel they preach.  So, we are not to suppose that there is no power in this word or in this ministry, but that we rely on the power of God, on the power of the Holy Spirit at work -- and that the mission is to seek out those with the capacity for faith to draw them in.  Overall, this is what we must see in the world, no matter what we do see in the world.  Today, for many people, the world presents us with some fearful sights, including a great deal of rejection of Christ and the gospel message.  Some will dress up what they think is in the gospel, or teachings in the gospel, only without Christ, and without belief in a God.  But how is it possible, really, to dismiss the Kingdom Jesus preaches and only see it as a set of abstract principles?  To do so is to reduce it to legalism.  Mercy as a principle is a good thing in and of itself, but how does one teach the proper use of mercy without Christ's example, and without the notion of communion that comes with this Kingdom?  If the very energies of God are grace and mercy, how do we leave them out from our own growth in this understanding?  Abstraction cannot teach us the kind of love that a real experience of love, even such an experience in prayer and spiritual communion, will show and teach us.  Peace itself is about right-relatedness, about the righteousness of God dwelling among us.  In Matthew's version of the sending out of the apostles on their first mission, Jesus instructs them:  "And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you" (Matthew 10:12-13).  As we discussed at length the understanding of this "peace" in yesterday's commentary, let me quote from a note in my study Bible about Christ's peace here in His instructions to the Twelve.  It notes that Christ commissions His servants to give a greeting of peace, which is the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), which Christ would also offer to the disciples (John 14:27, 20:19), and which would be revealed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  To this day, it says, Christ's peace is offered to the faithful in the Liturgy, with the words, "Peace be to all."  So, continuing from these thoughts, let us consider now Christ's response to rejection.  The gospel message comes with an offer of peace, of a specific and certain king of peace, not like the peace of the world.  Contained in this gospel message is the peace of Christ, a reconciliation to God that is akin to righteousness, and can be shared with others.  In fact, this peace, if we notice, can be given even without reciprocation, and does not rely upon others for the reality of its existence -- for it exists in Christ, and in faith it may exist in us.  It forms a substance of our communion in Christ, for as He indicates, it is contained in the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom. 

 

 

 

 

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For may will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were given the last part of Christ's final sermon, a great indictment of the corruption in the temple and among the scribes and Pharisees:   "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" 

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  My study Bible notes that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.   This prophesy proved vividly true, as Roman soldiers believed there was gold between the stones of the temple.  All that remained was one retaining wall, long known as the Wailing Wall, today more commonly called the Western Wall.

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study Bible notes here that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Revelation).  Christ's great emphasis in His response to the disciples is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue -- rather than on the construction of timetables of things that have not yet happened.  Here in Matthew's account, the end is described as encompassing first the initial sorrows, then the great tribulation, and finally the coming of the Son of Man.  The period of the great tribulation, my study Bible remarks, includes the entire Christian era.  It is not limited only to the final years before Christ's return.

 

And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For may will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  Christ gives the greatest priority to warnings against deception.  Of particular significance is His warning against following a false Christ.  Jesus will stress this repeatedly; see also verses 11, 23-27.  

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  My study Bible says that the wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but in the verses that follow we understand He includes subsequent wars also.  My study Bible comments that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather of the opposite:  that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). 

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  Here is a virtual list of things that characterize the period of history since Christ's Incarnation; let us understand that it is borne out in the history of the Church and the faithful.   But note that Christ's warnings are given in order to convey the message of endurance in faith through difficulties and disasters, that "he who endures to the end shall be saved."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel.  Indeed, it says, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising (in the Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70), they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus names many disasters that befall humankind, most of which any one of us has likely seen in our lifetimes.  There are human, man-made disasters and also natural disasters.  But even the natural disasters such as famines, and in some cases even earthquakes, can be the result of human action.  But these are just "the beginning of sorrows" in Jesus' prophesy of the times in which we live.  But then He speaks of tribulation, in which the faithful will be killed, and hated for His name's sake.   There are those in the Church who will be offended, betray one another, and hate one another.  He speaks again of false prophets and deceit -- and of the lawlessness that will abound, with the result that the love of many will grow cold.  All of these things we may think we see or have seen.  But the key, to my way of thinking, in Christ's warning is that "he who endures to the end will be saved."  He preaches to us watchfulness and endurance, which amount to virtually the same thing, because our endurance is not possible without watchfulness.  We need to be alert to deception and alert to when the disasters and myriad distractions around us start to veer us off our course,  taking away the love of God in our hearts so that we grow cold to the things on which we must build our lives.  He virtually assures the disciples that into the life of the Church and of the faithful all of these things will come, but we are to watch and know what we are to be about.  We are, above all, to endure through it.  That is, to endure in our faith and the practice of our faith, the carrying out of His commands, of love of God and love of neighbor, as best we can.  These are the things in which we must endure and which we must pursue.  We are to remember what is the "blessed life" He teaches us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), and all the ways He teaches us to be His disciples.  We have to hold fast to what it is that makes us salt and light, and reflect that light and God's glory back into the world (Matthew 5:13-16).  Throughout the difficulties, for over so many centuries since Christ's Incarnation, this is what the saints and the faithful of the Church have done, under any and all circumstances.  There is one saint I will take as an example who is inspirational to me.  She is St. Philothei of Athens, a woman who lived in the 16th century in Athens, Greece.  She lived in a time of oppressive Ottoman rule over Greece's mostly Christian citizens.   At a young age she became a very wealthy widow and devoted herself to monastic life.  She established on her property a women's monastery, where young women were taught various crafts and skills with which they could work.  She was active in philanthropy and charity, extended outside her immediate environment.  Among other things, she was active in buying the freedom of Greeks who'd been taken as Ottoman slaves, especially women taken to harems.  She took in and hid fleeing slaves, many of them women who were pregnant.  She spent extensive monies for bribes and ransoms for such people, and was heavily taxed and fined.  Her monasteries were plundered and agricultural lands destroyed.  For her work in hiding and smuggling out women who sought refuge in her monasteries, her fame grew and so did animosity against her.  She was beaten and imprisoned and eventually released.  Finally, four mercenaries broke into her monastery during an evening vigil and beat her severely; after a lengthy attempt at recuperation she died of her injuries, a martyr for faith.  Today much of central Athens remains a part of her legacy, and her bones are enshrined in the Metropolitan cathedral.  There, too, one may also find remnants of the chains of St. Paul, another reminder that in the endurance of our faith, we are free even in the face of the tribulations of the world and all the things that would enslave us.  Let us set these extraordinary examples before us, and understand that to endure is to truly live our faith and hang on to its priceless, matchless value, its love and light.  Notice that Jesus finishes by saying that "this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations."  Let us remember, also, that we witness by living our faith every day, and enduring in so doing.

O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them

 

 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

- John 17:20-26 

 

Beginning with Thursday's reading, the lectionary has given us what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer, His prayer to the Father before His seizure by authorities.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus prayed, "I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."

 

  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."  My study Bible comments that here Jesus prays for those who will believe.  It says that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  Christians enjoy two kinds of unity:  with God and with one another, the latter being rooted in the former.  

"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."   Jesus' profound statements lead us to understand John's Gospel as the Gospel of love.  My study Bible comments that the ultimate goal of Christ's prayer, and indeed of life itself, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person. 

 Jesus speaks of a union of love.  That union of love is clear within His own relationship to the Father, but what Jesus prays for is not only that the world knows of this love, but that we who are His followers are also drawn into this love as thoroughly and completely as He is:  "O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."   In the pagan systems of belief and practice, a god was appeased through sacrifice of some kind.  Meals were eaten with the god also as part of sacrifice and even communion.  But Christ stood this system upside down, as the sacrifice we commemorate is our God's sacrifice for us, and the communion and meal in which we engage is also provided by God's sacrifice for us, a sacrifice most deeply made out of love for us.  And this is the power of Christ.  For this is a God who always loves us and yearns for us to return to that love and to that communion.  Our faith is not magic but depends on this communion of love, our participation in the life of Christ, and indeed, as He prays here, in the union of Father, Son, and Spirit.  In the ancient world, the pagan gods were capricious and could be quite cruel; gods were appeased so that they would "do something" for those who made the sacrifice.  But there is no manipulation in Jesus, there is only love, and this prayer exemplifies for us and outlines the love of God the Father that begins it all, that defines and leads Christ the Son, that reaches out to us to include us in this communion.  And that is what we must remember.  We live in a world that so often still seems to abide by the laws of the harsh gods:  capricious, manipulative, coercive, cruel, duplicitous, where might makes right and trust is hard to find anywhere.  And when we look at "the world" and observe these things, let us consider the singular importance, the paramount contribution to our lives of Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father which He teaches us.  For love is in short supply when we are left to our own devices and outcomes.  Therefore, our participation in God's love becomes even more essential when we face warring outcomes in a world where there are no perfect solutions, and violence reigns.  Let us understand how deeply we need God's love at all times, but especially in times of stress when there is so much temptation to fall into patterns of hatred and rash behavior.  For it is God's love that stabilizes a life in which needs for love aren't being met, security and stability are imperfect, and fear knocks at the heart.  Without this love, we are lost to so much cruelty; but with God's love we have hope to live and dwell in a Kingdom where our love is shared and known.  Christ prays to the Father, "I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."   Through grace, that Name is being declared over and over in us, for us, even through us, that the love with which the Father loves the Son may be in us, and Christ in us, for this is the true gospel of the Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus preached the end of His final public sermon, to the religious leaders in the Temple:   "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."   My study Bible reminds us that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  In connection with Jesus' words to the religious leaders in yesterday's reading, we note that there was a forty year lag between this prophecy and the Siege of Jerusalem, time for individuals in an entire generation to come to repentance.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7-12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  The Lord's emphasis is on watchfulness and on the practice of virtue, rather than making timetables of things that haven't yet happened.  My study Bible breaks down the pattern given in Matthew's Gospel, which encompasses (1) the initial sorrows (verses 4-14), (2) the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and (3) the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).  This period of the great tribulation includes the whole of the Christian era, and is not limited to the final years before Christ's return.

And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  My study Bible asks us to note that it is these warnings against deception to which Jesus gives the most emphasis.  Of particular importance is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again in verses 11, 23-27.

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  The wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, my study Bible says, but they also certainly include subsequent wars.  Wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but of the opposite -- that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). 

 

"See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  All of these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, my study Bible says.  Indeed, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted, it adds.  St. John Chrysostom is cited here, who marveled that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything but the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What do end times look like?  While we might find ourselves and others frequently asking this question, and wondering about it since quite soon (relatively speaking) after Christ's Ascension, what we can see from His description is that there are features of the time that look remarkably like our own.  We are familiar with wars; we are familiar with famines, pestilences, and earthquakes.  We know of the tribulation the early Church experienced, and we should be familiar with tribulation and persecution that have continued throughout the centuries and especially during the 20th century under various forms of government, and continues even violently today for many Christians around the world.  Jesus speaks of false prophets, betrayals, lawlessness.  He says that "the love of many will grow cold."  He speaks of hate, both against the Church and inside of the Church, saying that "you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another."  These are things that have been seen, and things we should remember.  But possibly His most important message is twofold.  Jesus says, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  This in itself is an important, lasting message to all of us.  Whatever we go through in life, what Jesus emphasizes is endurance.  We are to persist in a faithful life, living out His commandments, and being His disciples to the best of our ability.  The other part with which He leaves us at this juncture in the reading is, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  Whatever we see happening in the world and in our lives, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached and will spread.  Now, through sites such as this blog and uncountable others, the gospel of the kingdom is preached throughout the world, and continues to reach people, as well as through more conventional means and venues.  But these two things are important, and especially relevant to today.  We have the message that it is our endurance that He asks of us.  He does not ask the impossible, for great feats and miracles of faith, for astonishing works that dazzle others.  He asks for our endurance, and this means our endurance in faithfulness, in living as He asks us to live and resisting the temptations to lawlessness, letting our love grow cold, betrayals, and hatred.  We are to persist in the gospel and living His gospel.  We might find all kinds of things going haywire in our life, even experiencing betrayals and hatred of one sort or another, or possibly we experience the great upheavals of history such as famine and warfare, earthquakes and pestilences.  But in any case, what He asks of us as a goal is to endure to the end.  Through all things, we turn to Him, to His gospel of the kingdom, to one another, to prayer and to worship, to struggle with what it means to live out our faith as best we can, and to endure.  Let this be our prayer, as the gospel of the kingdom continues to be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations

 

 

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved in whom 

My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. 

He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust."

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

Yesterday we read that at that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it our?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

 

  But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  Jesus is responding to the threat from the Pharisees, that they have begun to plot against Him, how they might destroy Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  It is not yet time for His Passion, so He withdrew from there.

Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  My study Bible comments that our Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4).  The reasons for secrecy include, as we have noted above, the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, for one thing.  In addition, the people expect and misunderstand that the Messiah must be an earthly, political leader, but Jesus' ministry is the gospel of the Kingdom.  Furthermore, Christ's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on the marvelous signs He does, but rather that the signs point to the deeper reality of the Kingdom.  The Servant (in "My Servant whom I have chosen . . .") refers first to Christ, my study Bible says, and by extension to all who follow Him.  

It's intriguing that my study Bible says that the Servant of Isaiah refers first to Christ, and then by extension, to all who follow Him.  We can read the prophesy of Isaiah quoted in today's reading, and clearly see the resemblance to Jesus in the prophesy.  We understand in His own words His character and demeanor, as in Tuesday's reading, when He said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Looking more closely at the character of the Servant in Isaiah's prophesy, we observe Jesus.  Now that He understands the Pharisees begin to plot to destroy Him, He chooses to withdraw.  He will go to preach elsewhere.  His ministry is part of a mission, and this is also part of the understanding of what it is to be a Servant.  His mission is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom.  This gospel message will eventually declare justice to the Gentiles.  His ministry is essentially one which comes in peace:  "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."   His victory will come at His hour on the Cross, and remains with us through this time until His Second Coming, His name has come to the Gentiles as one in which to trust.  But we observe His life and His behavior; for now in His ministry He has withdrawn from direct conflict with the religious leaders.  His ministry is not one of physical conquest nor military victories, but a battle for true faith, for the hearts, minds, and souls of those who will follow and can accept that the mighty works He does are but signs of the presence and working of the Kingdom which He preaches.  It is faith that He seeks, and those who will trust in His name.  If we are also to be servants by extension, by seeking to follow Him and bear His name into the world, are we also as deft as Christ?  Can we know when to withdraw, clearly understand the peaceful quality of our mission, and bear the truth into the world to continue expanding the trust in His name that He seeks and preaches?  This is a great mission, for which He has sent out His apostles on their first mission, and which by definition we who follow continue to bear into the world.  But it is Christ from whom we need to learn how to live this life, whose mission we undertake to join and to follow, to take on the easy yoke and light burden He continues to offer.  To continue this ongoing mission of the Servant we enter into, we need to know who He is and what manner of spirit we are of.   Let us watch and learn to be like Him:  to discern the times when we need to withdraw, the times we need to speak, and how to follow in humble imitation of our Lord, the Servant.