He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  

 

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus continued to teach Nicodemus:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

  After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  In the following chapter, it's clarified that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples were baptizing (see John 4:1-2).  

 

 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  John the Baptist is called the friend (meaning the "best man"), while Christ is the bridegroom.  My study Bible explains that the bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here John is confessing his role in the coming of the Messiah.  He is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and so he rejoices in that celebration.  

 

 "He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies, and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure."  My study Bible comments that John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.  His words express that he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  In allowing Christ to increase in him, John thereby find true glory for himself.  My study Bible also claims that this statement further indicates the end of the old covenant -- for as the law vanishes, the grace of Christ abounds.  John's declaration is found in the liturgical calendar, as his birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Jesus (see John 3:18).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  According to St. John Chrysostom, "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

 

John's statement, "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a model statement for all monastics, and an encouragement to all believing Christians.  St. Paul expressed the same idea when he wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).   St. Paul has also written, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).  In "decreasing" so that Christ "increases" within us, we encounter the notion of theosis, or deification.  This is a theological word which describes a human being, through Christian faith, becoming more like God.  This is not to say that we human beings can become like God in nature or substance, but rather that God shares God's grace with us.  In Orthodox theological language, God shares God's energies with us.  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus quotes from the Psalms, asking, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'?" (John 10:34; Psalm 82:6).  My study Bible comments that we are gods in that we bear Christ's image, not His nature.  But through grace (or divine energies), we are to become more like God.  We were made in accordance with human nature, but in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).  Christ assumed our humanity, and, my study Bible says, even in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, this process of our own healing, of being renewed in God's image and likeness, was begun.  So therefore, those who are joined to Christ, through faith, in Holy Baptism, begin this process of "re-creation."  That is, being renewed in God's image and likeness.  In this sense, St. Peter writes that we become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).  This is our salvation, this healing in which all things come under the authority of Christ, and we become "children of God" in this sense of image and likeness.  John the Baptist hands off the old to the new covenant, as my study Bible says, and encapsulates this salvation memorably for all when he says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  Christ is our Bridegroom, and we the Church, the faithful, are His Bride, to be joined to Him.  And therein is John's, and our, joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven

 

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  

 

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

 

- Matthew 18:10–20 

 

Yesterday we read that at that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."   

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."   In yesterday's reading (above) Jesus began to speak to the disciples about the proper care and reception of the little ones.  According to my study Bible, these "little ones" to whom Jesus refers include all who have childlike humility and simplicity; that is, all who are poor in spirit.  In today's reading, He speaks of their "angels who always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."  According to St. John Chrysostom, whom my study Bible cites here, not only the saints, but all people have guardian angels.   But the angels of humble people have greater boldness and greater honor before the face of God due to the humility of the person they guard.  It's not the nature of God, but the weakness of human beings, that requires the angels' service.  

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."  Unlike the calculations of earthly shepherds, my study Bible says, Christ sees such value in one sheep that He will leave the others are risk to save it.  The ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who remain faithful to God (Luke 15:7).  According to some patristic commentary, this is also an image of the Incarnation, in which the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven.  Christ descended from heaven to pursue the one lost sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption on earth. 

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector."  Here Jesus lays out a plan for church discipline, which is based on mutual correction in three expanding stages.  Sin and correction are to remain private, my study Bible notes, unless the offender refuses to repent.  It says that all correction must be done with great care and humility, with the highest concern being the salvation of the offender (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 6:1).  Nonetheless, correction must take place so that the sin does not spread to others as well.  

"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  My study Bible comments that the authority to bind and loose sins is given to the apostles and transmitted to the bishops and presbyters they ordained.  This authority, it adds, is given for the sake of the salvation of the sinner.  Quoting St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes that the sinner, "seeing that he is not only cast out of the Church, but that the bond of his sin will remain in Heaven, he may turn and become gentle."

Once again (as in yesterday's reading and commentary) we must note how carefully Jesus prepares the disciples for the future of His Church, the body of Christ, and especially the attention that must be paid to the proper care of the "little ones," all those who will come into the Church in faith, seeking to be part of the communion with Christ.  Scandalizing behavior, "offenses" that harm this relationship and communion with the little ones -- particularly those who come in all humility -- is the last thing Christ wants the leadership of His Church to embody.  In fact, in yesterday's reading (see above), He promised woe to anyone by whom such offenses come.  This discussion is clearly meant to set the tone for the whole of the Church to come, and the care and concern for the little ones, including personal self-discipline and a willingness to cast aside our own bad habits and impulses in order to do so, is Christ's definition of what it is to be "great" and the "greatest" in His Church.  Let us consider a moment the three-stage correction model that He offers to them.  It protects the privacy of the person accused of the offense, the one who has sinned against another.  The second stage, which expands the circle of those aware of the problem, still limits the exposure of the person about whom there is a complaint.  It's only after these attempts to reconcile and bring the person to an awareness of problematic behavior that it becomes a more public problem and expanded to the wider Church.  Moreover, let us consider what this means in the context of "Church."  The definition of Church according to my study Bible comes from the Greek word ἐκκλησία/ekklesia which is used here in the text, and means the "called out" or "assembly."  My study Bible notes that in this understanding the faithful are called out of the world to be the Church, which is the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the New Israel, the ark of Salvation, the assembly of believers.  Through the Church, it says, Christians are united to Christ and to each other.  In this community, the believer receives the grace of God through the sacraments and hears the truth of the gospel.  So therefore, this mystical transformation of people into one body in Christ takes place in the Eucharist; as Christ is the head of the Church, the Church is thereby a reflection of Christ's Incarnation, with body human and divine qualities.  In this understanding of what "Church" is and means, then, let us consider Christ's admonition for mutual correction.  Offenses are those things which disrupt this process of transformation into communion as the body of Christ; they tear relationships apart through abuse of various kinds, and destroy the very reality of what it means to take the Eucharist, to participate in Christ's sacrifice.  Therefore it is up to all of us to not only take our own behavior most seriously in this context of the "little ones" and how they are received by all, but especially Christ's teachings about self-correction (see yesterday's reading and His analogy of amputation of a diseased body part regarding our own sinful behaviors and habits), and mutual correction in today's reading.  If indeed the Church is meant to be a reflection of Christ's Incarnation, then imagine how much more seriously we must take His words when it comes to jockeying for position, for gossip and bad behaviors that break good faith in the Church, for exploitation or abuse of power and manipulation within the Church.  The Church is a holy institution and not merely a fiscal or community of neighbors or social institution or even a political one, as seems to become so often the case, something with which we are all too familiar.  If we were to remember that the Church itself is meant to be a place of healing -- including correction of sinful or abusive behaviors to ourselves or to others -- then we will orient ourselves correctly to its purpose and calling.  Let us remember that as a place of prayer and worship we are witnesses not to one another but to God and to the purpose of Christ's Incarnation itself, for if we fail that purpose then we fail Him.  As He reminds us today, He is there in the midst of us.  Throughout the readings of yesterday and today, Christ's great concern is with the little ones; so much so, that yesterday we read His teaching that to receive one of the little ones is to receive Him:  "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  Today He tells us most solemnly a key purpose of the Church:  "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."   Let us understand that we all are to work together for salvation, and what commitment that takes to His teaching here.  And always, there is the overriding concern for Christ's mission:  "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."

 

 

 

Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

In yesterday's reading, we are given Jesus' continuing words to Nicodemus, explaining who He is:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come into the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'"  My study Bible clarifies that in these passages referring to Christ baptizing, we are to understand that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples, which the Gospel indicates in John 4:2.  At this stage we're notified that Jesus' ministry now surpasses that of John the Baptist (who was himself highly revered among the people as a holy man), for now "all are coming to Him!"

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  My study Bible tells us that John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  The bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here, John the Baptist lays out the proper relationship between Himself and Jesus.   John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah; he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and therefore he rejoices in this celebration. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  My study Bible comments that John here expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.   Here he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As John the Baptist allows Christ to increase in him, John finds true glory for himself.  This statement moreover indicates the end of the old covenant.  So, as the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  John's declaration is revealed in the liturgical calendar, as his birth is celebrated at a time when the sun starts to decrease in the sky (June 24), and Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25). 

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Christ in our prior reading (above).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this final statement of faith.  It quotes from the commentary of St. John Chrysostom:  "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

John the Baptist affirms here what Jesus has said earlier in this chapter:  that Jesus is the Son who comes from heaven.  Therefore, Jesus speaks of what He knows firsthand, of what He has seen and heard.  He testifies.  Jesus speaks the words of God, for -- and John says something exceptional here -- God does not give the Spirit by measure.  John also speaks to us of God's love, just as Jesus testified in yesterday's reading, above.  He tells us, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand."   This is the same as Jesus' declaration to Philip in chapter 14:  "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works" (John 14:8-10).  But let us examine John's words about John himself, because these words are essential to the identity of all of us.  He begins by teaching that a person "can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven."  John explains his place by saying, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."   As the friend of the bridegroom, John's identity is fulfilled in all the things the bridegroom speaks, and thus rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  This sense of one's joy being fulfilled comes out of the power of real destiny; that is, the authentic "true self" that is fulfilled in more closely becoming the image planted within us by our Creator.  For John, this authentic self is the "friend of the bridegroom" in his mission as Forerunner, the one who heralds the coming of the Kingdom and of the Messiah.  So it is also with each of us.  Our joy is fulfilled in becoming that person God calls us to be, patterned after an image and likeness planted in us, our role in right-relatedness to Creator, to Christ.  For those of a certain generation who may recall this saying, this is what it means to "follow your bliss," and in the words of John the Baptist, to fulfill one's joy.  Let us do likewise, and each one of us rejoice to stand and hear the voice of the Bridegroom and fulfill our own roles in His Kingdom as we are called to do.  John's significant humility -- a part of his towering holiness in the image of the last and greatest prophet of Israel -- is key here, for without it, it is most hard to distinguish the Bridegroom's voice from that team of voices in the heart that come from all kinds of experiences of worldly life.  It is John, the radical ascetic with his vow of poverty in total dedication to God, that serves as the great model for the monastic life.  Let us hold in ourselves this image of humility before God, and endeavor do likewise.   For it is true for each of us, that "He must increase, but I must decrease" as we allow our Lord's grace to grow in us and teach us who we really are.  

 

 

Our Father in heaven

 

 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:

    Our Father in heaven,

    Hallowed be Your name.

    Your kingdom come.

    Your will be done

    On earth as it is in heaven.

    Give us this day our daily bread.

    And forgive us our debts,

    As we forgive our debtors.

    And do not lead us into temptation,

    But deliver us from the evil one.

    For Yours is the kingdom and the power and  the glory forever.  Amen.

 

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

- Matthew 6:7-15 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, the lectionary gave us Matthew 6:1-6 and verses 16-18, Christ's teachings on almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.  And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. . . . Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  

 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."  Note that the emphasis here is on vain repetitions.  In this Christ continues His teaching against hypocrisy, and the need for true communion with God (as opposed to the wearing of a mask, which hypocrisy implies).  Therefore vain repetitions cannot establish this communion; as my study Bible puts it, God does not need our babble.  In order to partake of this communion with God, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we are to pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  This is not a condemnation of many words, but rather Jesus is teaching that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In today's reading, Jesus gives us specific words to repeat.  My study Bible reminds us that it is not repetition itself that is condemned but rather vain repetitions, as Christ desires sincerity in prayer.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible says that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity reveals our potential relationship with God.  Christ, the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God" a Christian person is called to love, trust, and serve God the same way that Christ does the Father.   We don't call God our Father because God created us; God is Father to those in a saving and personal relationship.  This  communion comes only by grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).

"Give us this day our daily bread."  My study Bible explains that daily is a misleading translation of the Greek word epiousios/ἐπιούσιος, which means literally "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread is an indication of not simply bread for this day, for earthly nourishment.  This is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, something that nourishes our immortal soul.  My study Bible tells us that this living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  Therefore, in the Lord's Prayer, we're not just asking for material bread for physical health, but rather for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This request to be forgiven is plural ("our debts"), my study Bible points out, and so it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  These debts are spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and  the glory forever.  Amen."   My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  But temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  They are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

 

 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  Here, a depth of insistence on mutual forgiveness between people, as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  My study Bible comments that those who do not forgive are not forgiven -- period.  This teaching is repeated in the parable of the unforgiving servant found at Matthew 18:21-35, which concludes with the same teaching.  My study Bible adds that to not forgive others is to willfully run from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.  

 

We note the emphasis Jesus places on forgiveness.  But if we look closely at Christ's behavior, we will see what that means.  Jesus did not apparently go around seeking retaliation upon anyone who opposed Him.  If we look at this passage, we'll see that some of His disciples felt it might be important to cast fire upon those who would not receive Christ on His way to Jerusalem.   But Jesus' reply to John and James Zebedee was, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them."  If we think about that more deeply, then we start to understand the direction of Christ's teachings.  He does not say that these villagers were right to refuse them, but He upholds what He had taught before that, when the disciples were sent upon their first mission:  that they were to shake the dust off their feet in places that refused them, as a rebuke (see Matthew 10:14).  Luke's story about the journey toward Jerusalem does not tell us if Jesus paused to do this, and we should consider what was particularly important about that trip toward the Cross and the events of Holy Week.  Jesus was still proclaiming the Gospel to the people of God, in His own mission to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, despite the fact that He was shortly to be killed.  But throughout Christ's ministry, and in particular in the final week of His life, Christ showed us that a refusal to enact retribution does not mean that we compromise on truth.  He spared no words in condemning hypocrisy and cruelty.  In His actions, He repeatedly defied those with hearts hardened, even as they claimed they were defending the religious Law (given, in fact, by Christ, the Logos, the Lord of the Old Testament).  In this Gospel, we will read Matthew's full recording of Christ's condemnation of the religious leaders and their practices (Matthew 23).  Jesus did not shirk from telling the truth.  There are times when we think in our personal lives that not speaking out is a form of forgiveness.  But again, in this Gospel, Jesus gives a formula for mutual correction in the Church (Matthew 18:15-20).  In that teaching it is clear communication that is the method for resolving precisely the type of spiritual "debts" He's instructed us to pray about in today's reading.  But taken altogether, forgiveness does not mean simple forgetting.  St. Paul will also speak of those who sin within the church, and who refuse repentance.  For something Paul found particularly scandalous, He taught the congregation to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."  What this means is to set the person apart from the Church, for life outside of the communion -- the experience of a life without Christ's protective presence against the evil in which he's participating -- may work to bring him back to salvation.   So we are to understand forgiveness in the context of the Gospels and of Christ's life and teachings, including as understood by St. Paul.   So far in the Sermon on the Mount, we've been taught about meekness and the poor in spirit, we've been taught about the dangers of anger and angry words, about swearing oaths, about covetousness and lust.  As followers of Christ, we have been warned against all of these things, and taught to turn the other cheek.  But this does not stop us from knowing and living the truth, and understanding the capacity for evil around us, and harmful acts.  Neither does it mean that we don't identify such things.  What is quite important is that we don't mistake forgiveness for an encouragement to participate, even through association, with bad acts and corrupting behaviors.  It's important -- even together with forgiveness -- that we disassociate ourselves from the kinds of behaviors that do harm.  For this is what St. Paul teaches us, that even to respect our very incarnational reality, even the holiness of our bodies and created matter (creations of God), means to seek a purposeful living, mindful of what we agree to and participate in.  We're not simply spirits or souls which are dissociated from our bodies.  Rather, we're in the world to "sacramentalize" it; that is, to hand it all over to God, to give ourselves to this purpose, for God's love to set in good order as opposed to the chaos that destroys life.  When Jesus teaches us about forgiveness, He is teaching, effectively, just that:  that even our conflicts and hurts are given up to God, so that God may guide us in response, rather than a sense of vengeance or other harmful passions.   For this is what God's peace is all about.  This is what it means to be "sons of God."

 

Blessed are you

 

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

"Blessed are you poor,

For yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you,

And when they exclude you, and cast your your name as evil,

For the Son of Man's sake.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,

For you have received your consolation.

Woe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 

- Luke 6:12-26 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that Jesus went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?  How he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."   Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.   

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: . . .  My study Bible cites St. Ambrose of Milan, who comments that Jesus, being the Son of God, does not pray as if to obtain grace or revelation from the Father.  Instead, as the Son of Man, He prays as the Advocate for humanity (see 1 John 2:1).   Moreover, according to Theophylact, Jesus spent all night in prayer before selecting the twelve apostles in order to teach us that before choosing a candidate for any spiritual ministry, we should pray that God will reveal to us the one suited for the task.  The twelve are called interchangeably both disciples and apostles.  The Greek word translated as "disciple" means literally "learner."  "Apostle" means "one sent out." 

. . . Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.   My study Bible comments that the names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, because many people had more than one name.  The names here and in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 10:1-4) are given in pairs, suggesting who might have traveled together on the first missionary journey, as Mark reports that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7). 

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  Note that for the sermon He will give here, Jesus stood on a level place.  For that reason, the sermon in the verses that follow is called the Sermon on the Plain.  It is also noteworthy that, in addition to all those from Judea and Jerusalem (and, we presume, Galilee), there are also people present from the Gentile regions of the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.  Although the Sermon on the Plain is not as extension as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), it is similar in content.  My study Bible comments that Jesus repeated many of His teachings over a period of three years.  

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  In the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," meaning those who have the heart of the poor, the same attitude as the poor, and are totally dependent upon God.  This can also clearly mean those oppressed or excluded because of their faith and humility.  Blessed in the context of Christ's teaching means heavenly, spiritual exaltation rather than a worldly kind of happiness or simply material prosperity.  In Hebrew, my study Bible comments, "poor" means both the materially poor and also the faithful among God's people. 

 

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  Again we remember the kind of blessings Jesus refers to here.  In the Sermon on the Mount, it's reported that He taught, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness."   

 

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."    In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ speaks of the blessedness of those who mourn.  That is, according to my study Bible, those who sorrow over the suffering of this life (Matthew 9:23), the sufferings of others (John 11:35), the state of the world (Luke 19:41), and their own sins (Luke 7:36-38).  

 

"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and cast your your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."    My study Bible comments that those who would be children of God uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other (Matthew 6:24, 33; see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Luke Jesus, there will be those who, in response, hate, exclude, and cast one's name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake (see also John 15:18-20).  It adds that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."   Luke reports four "woes" which are not found in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount.  My study Bible comments that woe is an indication not merely of sorrow, but of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  Those who prize the vices which are listed here are liable to the "utmost misery"; however, according to St. Cyril of Alexandria, they find hope when they sacrifice their earthly blessings in showing mercy to others.

 

 In giving us both the blessings and the woes that accompany the kingdom of God and His gospel, Jesus teaches us about the centrality of this Kingdom to our lives.  He's saying that we have both blessings within it, and woes that come without it, and He offers us a perspective that teaches quite clearly that being a part of this Kingdom is worth every sacrifice and any worldly suffering it might entail.  The blessings of this Kingdom come despite nominal worldly hardship because of it, in Christ's framework of Beatitudes here.  We are blessed although among the poor, because ours is the kingdom of God.  We are blessed when we hunger, for we shall be filled.  When we weep we are nonetheless blessed because we shall laugh.  And when we are hated by others, and excluded, and our name is slandered as evil -- all for the Son of Man's sake -- we are also blessed!  In fact, we are to rejoice, and leap for joy, because our reward is great in heaven, and in so suffering we join the ranks of the prophets of the past.  He asks us to celebrate this blessedness even in the midst of worldly suffering because of our faith.  On the other hand, there are woes here for those who reject the Kingdom, and who reap a worldly harvest at the same time (even possibly because of that rejection).  The rich will receive no other consolation; those who are full (in contrast to the hungry faithful) shall hunger.  Those who laugh now shall mourn and weep.  And those whose reputation is great and flattered shall suffer the same fate as the false prophets.  It might be safe to say that we all know those who seem to have a good life possibly because they reject living the values that Christ teaches -- and also those who nominally follow Christ in an outward fashion.  But consider what it means to truly accept the things He posits here.  Can we rejoice when we're reviled for His sake?  Are we really capable of understanding, contrary to the plethora of suggestions in the world that having all things immediately at our fingertips is a guarantee of a great life, that a deferred consolation might really be far better than the things with which we could gratify ourselves right now?  These are not easy teachings, but they nevertheless make a great deal of sense with a little spiritual experience.   Some have learned by sharing the bitter experience of letting oneself down with, say, easy money gained through a cheap cheat of someone we care about.  Another common path to this knowledge through experience is in finding a purely outward fix through indulgence and forgetfulness in whatever vice we choose, rather than really grappling with and struggling with an inner problem.  These remain common experiences in a modern world -- and the true "fix" to the problems that deeply ail us remains still in the spiritual struggle that is there within us.  There are all kinds of ways of losing ourselves within the worldly framework of what looks good on the surface.  For example,  popularity and flattery, getting the big house or car or boat even through not-so-honest or decent ways of conducting our business, or a high lifestyle that seeks to ignore the question of integrity and even the inner struggle with our own troubles.  These dilemmas remain with us and become magnified with greater worldly wealth and temptation.  There are myriad books in any marketplace to testify to such struggles, and self-help programs, medications, and therapies that continue to proliferate in an effort to offer solutions.  But so much in the end comes down to facing the true fact that it is the intangible that gives us reward, the struggle that gives us substance, and the love of God that is the comfort that answers our deepest needs for consolation.  In the end, it is the love and mercy of the Kingdom that become reliable -- despite worldly loss -- because those are the things that stay with us while everything else can fluctuate.  Those are the needs we still have when everything else is transcended.  Witness the enduring problems in the headlines of people who have too much too fast, of the wealthy and famous, the anxieties that can accompany worldly achievement.  Let us consider the Kingdom, and Christ's teaching.  For whatever we have in life, a real need remains for what is of true substance, and the spiritual life the one place to seek the answers we haven't  managed to find.  There are times when we make a choice between this inner struggle of working out our salvation and some sort of worldly plan for "success."  Let us cherish the value of the one over the other, and know that all things may be added to the one we are to seek first. 

He must increase, but I must decrease

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  

 

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."   Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  In the following chapter of John's Gospel we are told that Jesus' disciples were baptizing -- "though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples" (John 4:2).  

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  My study Bible explains that John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ is the bridegroom.  The bride is the Church, the people of God.  John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah -- that he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and thus he is rejoicing in that celebration.  

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  John here expresses a deeply characteristic humility, which my study Bible says serves as an example for all believers.  He is renouncing all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As he allows Christ to increase in him, there John finds his own true glory.  Moreover, my study Bible explains, this statement is an indication of the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  This declaration by John is also reflected in the Church calendar.  Across several denominations, John's birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), and Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).  

 

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Christ Himself (see John 3:18).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in the final verse here ("He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him").  St. John Chrysostom writes, "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

"He must increase, but I must decrease" is considered to be a classic statement of humility, especially forming a model for monastic life.  John expresses a classic sense of what it is to serve Christ, and it is applicable to each one of us when we consider what salvation is and means.  If it is true that God became human (Incarnate as Jesus Christ), so that human beings could become God-like, then we must understand that this statement really could be said prayerfully by each one of us.  St. Paul makes a similar allusion to the sentiment expressed here when he declared, "I die daily" (see 1 Corinthians 15:30-31); in a passage vigorously proclaiming the resurrection, he was affirming the value and meaning of sacrifice and struggle in the faith.   It is interesting to note also that regarding the final verse in today's passage, St. Chrysostom comments that "faith alone" is not sufficient for salvation.  What he is saying is that it is the life lived in faith that matters; our lives must be expressions of that faith and love.  Our faith, in following Jesus Christ, is also deeply "incarnate" if you will.  Our faith is meant to be expressed in what has been called "love in action," even as imitation of how Christ lived.   Perhaps the most profound illustration we have is the parable of judgment given to us by Christ, and its examples of compassion (Matthew 25:31-46).  Our baptism, as we have read emphasized in yesterday's reading, above, is with water and the Spirit -- so that we are not simply left to our own devices but are born again "from above," the beginning of the Christian life.  Therefore, He must increase, but I must decrease, becomes our own model for salvation, a lifetime trajectory, a sense of how Christ is indeed, always with us.  St. Paul speaks eloquently of the fruits of the Spirit; that is, the things born in us from this rebirth "from above" with water and the Spirit ("love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control").  And they are clearly meant as things we see through time, effects which manifest throughout our lifetime.  He contrasts these fruits of the Spirit with what he calls the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5:19-23).   But without an attitude of humility, so well-exemplified in the words of St. John the Baptist, how will we come to those fruits and the flowering of our baptism?  How will we realize the things we need to discard, and the ways in which we need to grow, and make room for Christ to increase in us?  Let us consider this great model that has served and inspired so many throughout the history of the Church, and do likewise.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Jesus asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   My study Bible comments here that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, for it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the equivalent of the Hebrew title "Messiah."   Let us note Jesus' astonishing statement to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  This is a statement that implies even God the Father's revelation to human beings.  My study Bible also remarks that we should note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself here ("Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets").  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  According to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this rock refers not to Peter per se, but rather to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are understood to refer to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible comments, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, it is Christ who opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous; this happens through Christ's Passion and experience of death.  My study Bible adds that so also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  Furthermore, there are only two places the term church is mentioned in all the gospels:  here and in Matthew 18:17.   This Church, my study Bible explains is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  My study bible comments that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given both to Peter and to the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18, John 20:23).  Peter, it explains, was not a leader over the others, but rather among them.  This truth was affirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study Bible comments that other claims in later centuries must not be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter, nor should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to these claims.  To bind and loose is a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom (see also John 20:23), but this also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.

Today's reading invites us to think about authority.  What constitutes authority in the Church, and in the wider body of the Church as a whole?  Certainly the role of faith cannot be diminished, as today's reading continues on that theme that has been central of our recent readings in Matthew.  But let us also note discipleship as an important factor as well.  These men are the ones who have been with Christ from the beginning.  They have invested their lives in His ministry and teachings.  So we have a combination of both faith and discipleship, each growing together in these apostles.  We tend to divide faith and works, and especially the discipline of following Christ's teachings and the practices of the Church.  But in Peter, the two meet, and when we define these things properly, they go hand in hand, and must not be separated.  Each "needs" the other for wholeness.  In the Epistle of James, he writes of Abraham, "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'  And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:22-24).   While we may consider that "works" includes prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, we must understand that the work of discipleship is the constant fashioning of our own character through the discipline of the teachings of Christ, and the spiritual heritage we all share through the Scriptures and also traditions of the Church.  We might have the greatest faith, but without humility of character before God, what good is our faith?  If we are not aware that God is at work in us, that we will all come to times when repentance is necessarily, how much fruit do we bear of our faith, and even more importantly, how can we grow in our faith?  For even Peter himself will be chastised for his lack of faith, his reliance upon himself, his lack of awareness of his own weakness in a time of temptation.  In fact, in our very next reading, Jesus' discipline will be given with a rebuke to Peter, with the remark, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23), when Peter cannot accept Christ's prophecy of His Passion.  In chapter 26, we'll read Jesus' prophecy of Peter's denial of Him, Peter and the other disciples' failure to remain awake and pray with Christ in the garden, the mistake of defending Christ with a sword, and finally Peter's denial that He even knew Christ (see Matthew 26:31-75).  These are failures in a time of tremendous demand, confusion, temptation, pressure, even terror.  But leadership and authority are tested through such times, and Peter's repentance, restitution, and leadership will continue.  It is in this disciplining of faith through the transformation of character that real leadership and authority are honed, built, tested, and grown.  And this, also, can be the story of our own lives of both faith and discipleship as we seek to bear Christ's cross into the world, and participate in our own ways in His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  We look to leadership for these qualities of both faith and discipleship, developed through experience, honed through appreciation and reception of what has come before, and maybe most importantly developed through the humility of service.  Peter has revealed a tremendous secret through faith:  the identity of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God."  But the character Jesus reveals about this disciple, by changing his name from Simon Bar-Jonah to Peter, is one that will continue to be hewn in the fire of faith, of experience and difficulty, and in the challenges that lie ahead.  Like a statue that is formed from a hunk of stone, Peter's identity will continue to be refined and built, tested and challenged, through many experiences of sacrifice and courage to come.  So it is with us, faith plus discipleship must carry authority and leadership, and so we look today to the Church to continue her work of building up living stones.

 

 

They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat

 

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

 

- Matthew 14:13-21 

 

 Yesterday we read that at that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.  Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.  Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.  So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter."  And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her.  So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.  And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.  Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

 

 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.  When Jesus heard it refers almost certainly not to John the Baptist's death, but rather to the fact that Herod said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead and therefore these powers are at work in him" (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus departed from there to go to a deserted place by Himself as a way of evading the scrutiny of Herod and Herod's paranoia.

But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  Let us note that Christ's first response is to be moved with compassion for the crowds who follow Him.  My study Bible comments that "moved with compassion" is used frequently concerning Christ (Matthew 20:34; Mark 1:41, 6:34; Luke 7:13), which shows that the Lord's power and authority are extended to those who suffer.

 

 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about give thousand men, besides women and children.  My study Bible comments that this miracle, first of all, is reported by all four evangelists, so we must understand its centrality to the Gospels.  It shows Jesus feeding a great multitude of His people, just as he fed the Israelites in the desert (see Exodus 16).  In this feeding, the patristic writers see an image of the Eucharist, which is made quite clear in John 6.   Moreover, Christ shows that we should never eat without first giving thanks to God.  The terminology here points to the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26), and also thereby leads to a eucharistic interpretation of this miracle.  As the disciples distribute the bread to the multitudes, my study Bible says, so also Christ feeds the Eucharist to His flock through the hands of His bishops and presbyters. There is a spiritual interpretation in patristic teachings that the five loaves indicate the five books of the Law, also called Torah or Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which are broken open in Christ and thereby feed the universe.  The two fish represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  In the gathering of the leftovers by the apostles, it is shown that the teachings which the faithful are unable to grasp are nevertheless held in the consciousness of the Church.  There is another miraculous feeding in Matthew 15:32-39, in which Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish.  The witness of the gospel is clear that they are two distinct accounts, as Jesus later refers to both of them separately (Matthew 16:8-10).  

 

 Our latest readings have given us pause to consider what it means to cultivate and live a good life.  Throughout chapter 13, we read Jesus' various parables given to the crowds regarding what the kingdom of heaven is like.  So many of them focused on agricultural metaphors of growing good crops, or good trees which produce good fruit, such as the parable of the Sower, and the parable of the Wheat and the Tares.  There were also parables about objects of great beauty and value, such as the treasure hidden in the field, and the pearl of great price.  These illustrate the infinite value of spiritual understanding offered by Christ and the kingdom He invites us to be part of.  In the parable of the wheat and tares, and also of the dragnet, we're given to understand that there is a judgment connected with this kingdom, and the end of the age.  So each parable teaches us about what is of great value, what is worthy of sacrifice, and how these things build us up as persons and contribute to living a good life.  They teach us about endurance and choice.  In yesterday's reading (above) we were given the story about Herod Antipas and the death by beheading of John the Baptist.  In a certain sense, we commented, Herod serves as a cautionary tale in the midst of the stories of the immense value and worth of the kingdom of heaven; he is the opposite of what Christ teaches us to be, to aspire to become through participation in His kingdom and its values and teachings.  Finally, today we're given the parable of the feeding of the five thousand, and it seems to ask us to think about what we take in, what we consume, the things with which we feed ourselves in our lives.  Everything we read in the Gospels, and Christ's teachings, seem to indicate that there is at least some degree of choice we make in our lives.  While everything is most certainly not in our control, there are choices which we can make in our lives.  We can make an effort to determine what things we'll take in to nurture and feed ourselves.  Do we dwell on Scripture and the teachings of Christ?  What do we choose to think about, to dwell upon?  We do make choices when we decide the importance of faith, and what exactly we'll put our faith into.  An especially important choice is about trust:  in whom and what will we put our trust?  The root of the word for faith in Greek is really "trust."  Do we trust Christ to tell us the truth, and to give us the straight story?  Trust is deeply linked to love, to those whom we sense really love us.  Again, the story of Herod in yesterday's reading teaches us the difference between simply being indulged in all of our appetites so that we're like spoiled children, and a loving parent who's going to give us discipline and nurture us with what is truly good for us, which helps us to grow in strength and integrity.  And this is what Christ offers to us; it is this food of the Kingdom with which we really must be nurtured to be full human beings, with a sense that we have fulfilled true capabilities for maturity, growth, and wisdom to live our lives and shepherd our own communities, to responsibly make decisions about the things for which we're responsible.  Life is full of uncertainties and the things which we might not be able to fully prepare for.  But Christ feeds us with the things that are meant for full lives, the strength that takes us through the ups and downs and unforeseen circumstances.  He gives us the courage to challenge ourselves to growth, and the wisdom to find resources even when we seem to be stranded in the wilderness looking for what we truly need.