I see men like trees, walking

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11-26 

 

 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.   

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   Over the course of the past couple of readings, Jesus has been avoiding His ministry's "home" territory in Galilee.  After having disputed with the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem (see this reading), Jesus withdrew to the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon, where He had His encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman, and then came through the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee, again avoiding His ministry's home ground.  True to His apparent aim of avoiding the Pharisees for a while (and that they will now be after Him), we see that when He returns to the west side of the Sea of Galilee (as yesterday's reading told us), the Pharisees came out once again and began to dispute with Him.  This time they demand a sign from heaven, testing Him.  This means that what they want to see from Him is some spectacular display of power, in order to prove who He is.  My study bible says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But they fail to recognize the signs that are already being performed by Christ, as their hearts are hardened.  They apparently are ignoring the works which are happening all around them, and of which they no doubt have heard.  When Jesus says that no sign shall be given to this generation, He affirms that His ministry must unfold in a particular way in accordance with God the Father, and not according to the demands of those who seek to test God (see Luke 4:12).

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  Once again, after yet another hostile encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus departs with the disciples for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  As they travel across the sea (which is really a very large lake), Jesus has time for this dialogue with the disciples, after they fail to understand His meaning regarding the Pharisees and Herod.  My study bible says that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In either case, my study bible tells us, leaven is a symbol of a force that is powerful enough (and often subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  Jesus and the disciples come to Bethsaida, once again on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (north of the Decapolis; see this map).  The precise location of Bethsaida remains disputed (it may have been further south), but nevertheless this location seems likely.  What is probably most significant for our understanding is that it is in a region ruled by Philip as opposed to Herod Antipas.  Philip was the brother of Herod, whom Jesus referenced when He told the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," in the verses just prior to this.  My study bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and therefore Jesus leads this blind man out of the town to heal him.  This is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It explains that the healing of the blind man in stages shows that he had only a small amount of faith, as healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  Jesus' command that he not return to the town, my study bible explains, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.  Possibly it also suggests to us that we must do everything we can to shore up our faith, even leaving behind those who might tear it down.

Today's reading is all about faith, giving us various aspects of what it means to be faithful and what it is to be faithless.  In some sense, each story illustrates the question of degrees of faith.  Taken together, they tell us something important about how faith works in us -- or not, as the case might be.  First there are the Pharisees, who, despite the fact that they even know that Jesus is on the map, so to speak, because of the signs that have accompanied His ministry, demand a sign of proof that what He does is of God, and that His identity is somehow linked to the divine.  They have already begun to criticize Him and demand that He answer their queries (in this earlier reading), and Jesus tussled with them, so to speak, quite clearly.  When Jesus is questioned, He doesn't mince words; He tells the truth forcefully, even truths that they don't want to hear.  But then, we must note, Jesus has withdrawn for a time, away from the reach of the Pharisees, carrying His ministry elsewhere.  Their demand, presented to Him once more as He returns to the familiar ground in Galilee, is now that He prove Himself to them, which He will not do.  There is a particular and specific way in which His ministry must unfold.  It is dependent upon God, and not the inquisitive demands of the Pharisees, nor their particular brand of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness.  In their demand is couched the refusal to perceive what is already happening before them.  Then we come to the disciples, who themselves also show evidence of hard-heartedness, or failure to comprehend the things of God, even in which they directly participate!  Rather than understanding Jesus' remark to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod -- which clearly refers to the demands for proofs rather than an acceptance of this ministry as it is, the disciples think He's talking about their lack of bread!  Let us note Jesus' very human reply.  He seems to be both baffled and exasperated when He asks how they can possibly have forgotten that He has produced bread in the wilderness for thousands of people on two occasions.  How can they think that He is now complaining that they have forgotten to bring bread with them?  Their own lack of comprehension is a signal to us that even with the best of intentions, there will be things that are "hard to hear" and which we may very well choose not to.  Perhaps their innate fear of conflict with the authorities is on display here, and we surely know their terror at the Cross to come.  Often, we might find in our life of faith, there are hard truths we have to hear and accept, and hard facts of life that come in response, including a separation from those whom we love or changing our perspective on institutions we cherish or value in high regard.  Our faith does not shy us away from these difficulties, but rather teaches us about them.  Forbearance and courage, with a mind in the present time, and acceptance even of the evil things we might see, are part of that journey.  Finally there is the blind man in Bethsaida.  In some way, Bethsaida was a place that remained a great crossroads of civilization.  Although its roots were very ancient, it also seems to have become an important Roman city during the lifetime of Jesus.  Coming after the feeding of the four thousand, and midst Jesus' repeated crossings of the Sea of Galilee, we can, in some sense see this blind man as one drawn out of the world by faith.  The people of Bethsaida are skeptical of Christ, and in order to heal this man's blindness, He must not simply be drawn out of the town, but also is commanded to remain outside of the town and not to return.  Blindness and the restoration of sight have been used so frequently as symbols regarding faith that we are already quite familiar with this metaphor.  Jesus' illumination of his sight is at the same time an illumination of his soul, an opening up of his eyes to the reality of Christ.  Taking in the whole of today's reading, putting together the problems that the Pharisees now present to Jesus, the difficulties with which the disciples themselves come to grips with the realities their faith is asking them to perceive, and the need for this blind man of Bethsaida to take himself out of the town and away from what he knows and calls home, all conspire in a sense, to tell us of an impending grasp of faith on a new basis.  Faith in Christ is no longer simply a matter of tribe or ethnos, of city or state or institution, but a matter that will draw us out of the world and into a place where we can take up our own cross, and follow Him.  This may happen in a plethora of ways too great to number or even to limit.  But it nevertheless makes it clear that we will be called out of complacency, and called to see and hear where we don't want to see and hear.  The virtues of courage, steadfastness, perseverance, and alacrity, as well as patience and forbearance for whatever our circumstances are and how our faith asks us to respond to them, all come into play -- and this in turn tells us about the elevation of human beings.  We are called to an identity that isn't simply one of a group that commands loyalty, to being one who hears Christ and follows.  It goes to the true state of freedom of the heart, the call of God, and the real power of faith to transform and to heal, even as we're drawn out of what is already familiar.  In the midst of the way to restoration of his sight, the blind man says, "I see men like trees, walking."  We ourselves may be like this image of human beings as stick figures, partially-complete persons.  But Christ brings us into the fullness of who we are, and what we are capable of becoming.

They had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened

 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, after 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.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  The fourth watch of the night is about three o'clock in the morning.  In another recent reading, as they were on a stormy sea, Jesus asked the disciples, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  This time He's left them alone to cross the night sea by themselves, and they struggle against wind.  His assurance gives us to understand His presence with us, and the message that is there, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   Among the other astonishing things in today's reading, it may be perplexing to readers how the disciples fail to understand the divinity of Christ in the sign of the loaves in yesterday's reading, above.  My study bible tells us that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart -- and not merely the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it says, then 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."  It is the center of who we are, where all comes together in our power of comprehension.  A hardened heart is one that is both unfeeling and uncomprehending;  compassion, for example, is also a form of understanding.

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 says that Christ permits miracles through touch in order to show that His very body is life-giving (see also the healing of the woman with the twelve-years blood flow, in this reading).

How do we understand things?  Why is it that the disciples still fail to understand about the loaves?  "Hard-heartedness" is a phrase that teaches us about what it means to truly comprehend, and it also teaches us about how we look at life.  There are a number of ways  in which we are capable of understanding things.  There is the intellect, but there is also compassion.  There is empathy.  There is a kind of emotional understanding.  Above, beyond, and in addition to these, there is a kind of perception of spiritual truth that gives us insight and discernment.  A part of the understanding of the heart involves our capacity to see and dignify the "personhood" of others.  Jesus tells the Pharisees, when they ask about easy divorce available to men under Mosaic Law, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept" (Mark 10:5).  In today's reading, this term is used to describe the disciples' unawareness of the evidence of Jesus' divinity in the sign of the multiplication of the loaves (see yesterday's reading).  There is a level at which faith and the heart intertwine.  Faith is an action of the heart, not only the intellect.  Faith is a key component to comprehension of certain kinds.  Jesus will frequently echo Isaiah (and numerous other Old Testament references) when He says, "For the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them" (Matthew 13:15).   In ascetic writings on prayer, the Orthodox tradition teaches that one should pray "with the mind in the heart."  Even modern psychology increasingly tells us that the intellect alone is not enough involvement of the whole person for healing from trauma of many kinds, and the development of new techniques for addressing various types of trauma is an unstoppable trend, with many components and directions evolving from it.   In today's reading, we're told that even Jesus' very body is life-giving; again, even the body stores intelligence and experience, and is a component in psychological healing.  From its inception, the Church has taught that our bodies are inseparable from soul and spirit; the great evil of a "fleshly" perception is precisely that separation, a root of "hard-heartedness."  The heart pulls all of this together, and becomes the place where God's love dwells, where grace is at work.  Those whose faith has given them any form of healing can testify to the depths at which God's love works to reach us when nothing else can.   That Twelve Step programs invoke reliance on a Higher Power is evidence of that.  What all of this signals to us is that the depths at which our faith is at work will open up our understanding of ourselves as human beings -- more importantly, as persons.  We are not merely intellectual beings propelling a body around as a kind of vehicle in the world.  Rather, all of the varied aspects of how we are created, the gifts with which we are endowed, intelligence that works in myriad ways, gives us capacity for perception that teaches us how much more to our own lives and persons there is than a "worldly" perspective may allow for. This center of a person that pulls all of those things together is what is called the heart in Scripture.  It is, perhaps most tellingly, the place where relationship and relatedness is truly centered -- which is why the heart is a place of prayer and desire.  The heart is also a place where we may nurture evil things that ally us with what is not good.  Jesus also teaches that "out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matthew 15:19).  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus had many followers in response to particular signs in His ministry, but that "Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people" (John 2:24).  In fact, Jesus perceives what is in the heart without having to be told about it.  He is called the "heart-knower" in Acts 15:8, which uses a particular Greek word that encapsulates the concept (καρδιογνώστης).  All of this is to teach us that if we fail to involve the whole of ourselves in our faith, we are missing out on perception and intelligence.  If we fail to nurture our heart or to guard it properly, or to be aware of what we can hold onto that is not good for us, then we aren't guarding our true spiritual, emotional, mental, and intellectual health.  We might be blindsided in life by our attachments and prejudices, or the things we dwell upon which skew our proper perception and thinking, and take us away from good direction in life.  Let us think about the heart, and what it means to know the true center of ourselves.  The journey of faith is always right there as we move forward into its depths.