Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, is it nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  

 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

 

- Matthew 23:13-26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   

 

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, is it nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."  My study Bible comments here that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  So, therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).  

 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."   These warnings begin the last part of this final public sermon of Jesus.  Nearly the whole of chapter 23 is taken with it.  My study Bible comments that the warnings which begin in this section (and will continue in tomorrow's reading) are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  It notes that the Church has maintained the ancient practices of tithing ("These you ought to have done"), sacred vessels "you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish", and holy rites following the tradition handed down from the ancient Church through today.  These practices can be expressions of deep faith, it notes, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ -- or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation ("hypocrites!").  My study Bible explains that to "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel" is a reference to a practice in which the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming any ritually unclean substance.  

 

 There are a few things we might want to pay attention to in today's reading, for they reveal patterns which Jesus condemns on the part of these religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees.  First of all we should place this section of chapter 23 of St. Matthew' Gospel in context.  This full chapter is an exposition of Jesus' final public sermon, and so it is noteworthy to begin with 6:simply on that basis.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees, and in particular their hypocrisy.  It's notable for us that between the different parties that made up the ruling Council of the Jews (all of them religious leaders, and centered in the Jerusalem temple), the ones whom Jesus criticizes were perhaps the ones closest to Him in spiritual outlook and opinions.  The Sadducees are left out of this particular critique; they are the ones of whom He said they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (in this reading from Saturday).  It was a lawyer, in the second half of Saturday's reading, who approached Jesus with a question regarding the greatest commandments in the Law.  This lawyer was a Pharisee, and so we should keep this in mind.  For that Pharisee clearly understood Jesus' response to His question, and approved.  But the hypocritical practices Jesus condemns in today's reading show a clear violation of what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," which comes from Deuteronomy 6:5).  For these men in their hypocrisy pay lip service to piety, to devotion to God, but they don't practice it in what they do.  By their hypocrisy they take on pupils whom they mislead with their practices, and so "you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."  As we reviewed in yesterday's reading and commentary, it's their job as stewards of the people and their spiritual tradition to lead them to God, but in their practices they do the opposite.  As teachers they fail to uphold their supposed purpose as religious leaders, rabbis.   Even worse, they prey on the weak and powerless, thus violating the second great commandment Jesus had given ("You shall love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19:18).  Jesus tells them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation."   Such terrible teachers are they that they "travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  They not only fail to lead toward God, but lead toward the adversaries of God.  So blind are they to the things of God, they fail to understand that it is God who gives value to all things; therefore they can't see the sanctification of God, God's the power of holiness, and instead value the material that is useless without it.  Finally they miss God altogether in their pursuit of pious-appearing practices:  they tithe, but they have "neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith."  Without the love of God in their hearts, they have form but not substance.  They pay attention to the tiniest detail in appearing holy before others, but they swallow whole what is unclean in their faithlessness.  They take care to appear perfect to others in their external legalism, but "inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence."   In St. Matthew's 15th chapter, Jesus speaks of them by quoting from Isaiah:  "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13).  What we see in the outcome of their hypocrisy is the cruelty of their practices, the opposite of the intentions of the Law, antithetical to the purposes of God.  They become allied with evil, teaching their proselytes to become "twice as much a son of hell" as themselves.  Again, we turn back to Christ's teachings to the disciples about authority, power, and greatness, and the need for the consideration and protection of the "little ones" among them.  The widows whose houses are devoured are among such "little ones," the powerless and dependent, and so are the proselytes who seek instruction of matters of God.  As always, we consider what these examples mean for us, for, as my study Bible points out, there is no one who needs to take consideration of these warnings and criticism more than we who value and cherish the traditions we inherit, the faith we follow -- for we might find ourselves also at the receiving end of this criticisms should we engage in such hypocrisy ourselves.  A pure focus on externals might find us, rather than fully practicing our faith, in the same place of condemnation as these men whom Jesus faces.  When confronted with the truth -- and He is the person who is the Truth standing in front of them (John 14:6) -- they respond only by seeking to destroy Him.  The weightier matters of the law, "justice and mercy and faith," fall by the wayside to the blindness of their ways.  Jesus teaches, effectively, that there are two ways.  One is toward God, and the other is away.  We cannot do both, and neither are we capable of standing still or being neutral.  Indeed, this would be the teaching of the early Church, such as is found in the Didache, and was already well-known in Judaism.  So let us place first things first, lest we also become blind to where we are leading, and take others astray with us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh

 

Icon of Christ the Bridegroom, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."   But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

- Matthew 19:1–12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Christ gave the disciples a formula for Church discipline and mutual correction, Peter then came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted  to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  Here the Pharisees come to test Christ, and choose to test Him on the subject of divorce.  This was a hotly contested subject in this time, with debates between the Pharisees and other groups of the temple leadership, often focusing on abuses such as those with financial or economic incentives.  The basis of their test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4. My study Bible comments here that God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage which is revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.  With authority, it says, Christ adds His own clear prohibition against divorce.  Essentially, He does so twice.  First, when He says, "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate," and second, when He says, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."   My study Bible tells us that the possibility of divorce on the basis of sexual immorality shows that marriage, however, can be destroyed by sin.  On that basis divorce and a second marriage have historically been seen (according to the Orthodox Church) as a concession to human weakness and corrective measure of compassion when a marriage has been broken.  In the ancient Church, permissible reasons for divorce were expanded to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, but in all cases with acknowledgment to the spiritual tragedy of such a situation. 

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."   But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  My study Bible says here that Christ steers the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity, not as a rejection of marriage, but in particular as a special calling for those to whom it has been given.  Eunuchs, extremely common in the ancient world, were men who had been castrated -- either by birth defect, disease, or mutilation.  They were often employed to guard women of nobility, and in many empires played extremely powerful roles.  Here, Jesus is using this term figuratively for those who freely choose committed celibacy for the kingdom of heaven.  My study Bible adds that this consecrated virginity is not to be confused with self-mutilation, which was condemned at the First Ecumenical Council of the Church (AD 325).  See also 1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38.  

At first glance, one might consider that the two topics of Christ's discourse today -- marriage and virginity -- have nothing to do with one another.  Perhaps we might say they are opposites if our focus is on sexuality alone.  We might construe a choice for lifelong celibacy as a deliberate decision not to have a life partner, but rather to remain an individual without such a dedicated relationship.  But if we think about it, the two topics in today's do share something important and even essential.  In both cases of the person who chooses monogamous, and hopefully, lifelong -- even eternal -- marriage as well as the person choosing celibacy as one of the "eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" actually share a very important common characteristic.  In both cases, we are speaking of the dedication of one's energy and purpose in life to something beyond oneself.  In the first case to a marriage partner, in the second to serving the Church.  Each case will involve sacrifice and devotion and loyalty, and in each case one must choose that devotion of self to another, to a purpose that has to do with something other than selfish interest.  There is an important icon of Christ in the Eastern Orthodox tradition that is called Christ the Bridegroom; in Greek ὁ Νυμφίος.  It is sometimes called after Pilate's words to the crowd about the prisoner Jesus, "Behold the Man!"  (John 19:5), or in Latin, "Ecce homo."   Clearly Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church.  But in the Church that icon of Christ the Bridegroom, prisoner dressed in mocking garb, with a crown of thorns upon His head, and hands bound, is a symbol for marriage.  This is not the symbol of the modern romantic ideal, or sweet hearts and flowers, and grand moments of soaring emotion.  It is the symbol of what it means to make a marriage work:  it's an engagement in mutual sacrifice, in giving of oneself for something beyond only oneself and only one's own happiness or joy.  It is the symbol of what it is for two to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), something forged through mutual love and self-giving.  It is a type of heroism upon which human beings and human flourishing relies.   In the context of Christ's teaching about eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, we should understand that the sacrament of marriage has often been called the layperson's way to holiness.  Just as a monastic will become a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven, in devotion to serving the Church and seeking theosis or union with God as one's highest calling, so marriage also calls us to grapple with and learn the rigors of self-giving.  Both in the case of marriage and in the case of the eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven whom Christ describes, He is speaking of what it means to be devoted in a kind of selfless love that asks of us sacrifices, giving, and eventual personal transformation for the sake of something greater.    This spirit of mutual giving is really an image of love.  Even a willingness to suffer for those whom we love, as did Christ, is something that calls us out of ourselves, and toward what it means to truly love.  So let us understand the image of Christ the Prisoner, the One who suffers for love.  For it is not to a romantic fantasy, but to the reality of what it really takes to know and live love, of how we might be called by God, both in marriage and in the Church, that we are called.  And it is indeed love that calls us there (1 John 4:8).

That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth

 

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

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

- Matthew 23:27-39 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His final sermon of His earthly life, preaching in the temple at Jerusalem:   "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also." 

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  Here Jesus continues the theme we read in yesterday's reading (above), as His sermon focused on the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.  In the beginning of His sermon, as we read on Monday, He said of them that "all their works they do to be seen by men" and so this comment that they appear beautiful outwardly applies in that sense.  They have external signs of holiness (and "cleanliness" in this sense of religious purification) but internally are anything but. 

 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Here is Jesus' theme elaborated that these religious leaders "are full of dead men's bones and all unrighteousness" -- He says they are the same, the very sons of those who murdered the prophets, for they continue in the same behavior.  Jesus gives His own prophecy here of those whom He will send to them, some of whom they will kill and crucify, scourge in their synagogues, and persecute from city to city.  In Greek, the verb that is translated as "I send" is ἀποστέλλω/apostello, the root from which we derive the word "apostle."  So while even now He sends them out (present tense), He speaks of the future when His apostles (prophets, wise men, and scribes) will be crucified, scourged, and persecuted from city to city.  Jesus speaks of those from the beginning, righteous Abel (who was killed by his brother Cain in Genesis 4:1-15)  to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  While some patristic commentary indicates this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), others as well as modern scholars say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, making the contemporary "whom you murdered" make sense.  According to tradition, Zechariah the father of John the Baptist was also murdered in the temple.  In Luke's Gospel, he is referred to in the Greek version of his name, Zacharias (see Luke 1:5-25, 57-80).

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study Bible comments that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, yet most do not want God.  The house which is desolate refers both to the temple in Jerusalem and to the nation itself, for "house" can be used to mean also family or tribe (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  Both the temple and the nation will be without God's protective presence once Christ departs.

Of course, Christian tradition understands Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple (and of Jerusalem) as fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans at the Siege of Jerusalem.  The prophecy of Jesus is seen in this light.  So, we might ask ourselves, how is it possible for "all the righteous blood shed on the earth" to come to one generation?  For that, we must ask ourselves about spiritual awareness and knowledge and the weight they carry in human lives.  These men to whom Christ speaks in today's reading are the experts in the Scriptures, the keepers of Jewish spiritual and religious history and tradition.  Moreover, these men are the ones responsible for the instruction of Israel, the carrying forward of the spiritual tradition of Judaism, and they have failed, in Christ's eyes, through their hypocrisy and corruption.  Even so, we might ask, how can the full weight of all the righteous blood shed come upon one generation?  First we must understand the responsibility that spiritual knowledge and experience carries.  When one "knows better" there is far more responsibility involved than something done in ignorance.  Second, Jesus gives us a very close hint when He tells them (in yesterday's reading, above), "For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."   Bad habits and practices become extended from one person to another, and from one generation to another, when they are successively taught through practices and ways of thinking and being.  Righteousness is a question of how we relate to the world and all beings and things in the world; therefore unrighteousness can be acquired and learned as well through the imitation of those who fail to live righteousness.  Indeed, in the Orthodox tradition, the world is in a "fallen" state primarily due to the fact that we inherit the conditions created and, in a sense, "descended" from the first sin.  We don't inherit guilt, but we do acquire the habits of the world around us, the conditions into which we're born.  So these religious leaders are responsible for their own behavior, as they know the teachings of righteousness and yet simply accept corruption and its practices, even extended to unrighteous bloodshed and violence.  Jesus speaks of their hypocrisy when He tells them that "you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"   And He prophesies what they themselves will do, including His own crucifixion:   "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Christ ties them in to an extended history of what they know to be blameworthy behavior ("you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets'"), and prophesies that they will continue to do the same nonetheless.   Therefore Jesus speaks of the power of spiritual reality at work in our world, which is not only the power of God which sanctifies and brings holiness, enables prophesy and all the varied fruit of the Spirit in our world.  But that same power of sanctification and righteousness is also at work when we fail to uphold what we know to be the good, when we know better, when holiness is standing before us and testifying.  Jesus indicates this when He sends out the apostles and tells them, "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" (Matthew 10:14-15).  Note also that what we might call this destructive spiritual power (in response to unrighteous denial or rejection of holiness) comes in time; it will be forty years before the fulfillment of this prophecy.  This is understood as merciful, for there is time for people to repent.  Therefore to those who would be blind to it, cause and effect are not necessarily understood; only those capable of repentance could see or sense the spiritual effects of their actions.  So we today who "know better," who are recipients of the spiritual teachings of Christ and the traditions of holiness that are handed to us, bear responsibility for the spiritual treasures and wisdom we have been given through prophets, wise men, and scribes.  For God's holy power is still at work.  Let us consider when we pray the power of holiness and the reality of Christ's words and teachings.  For righteousness and compassion always remain essential to our understanding of the people He calls us to be.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes

 

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:

'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the LORD's doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

 

- Mark 11:27—12:12 

 

Yesterday, we read that the next day after Christ's Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday), when He and the disciples had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." 

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  My study Bible informs us that since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple (see yesterday's reading, above).  As Jesus is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John.  This is an important question, because it exposes the leaders' hypocrisy, for they feared the people, as all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  My study Bible says that both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer -- and therefore would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  By not answering them directly, it says, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

 

 Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others."  Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"  And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  In this parable, my study Bible explains, the man who planted a vineyard represents God the Father, and the vineyard itself refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the religious leaders who are entrusted to care for the people, and to guide them in producing spiritual fruit (see the symbolic withering of the fruitless fig tree in yesterday's reading, above).  Each servant who is sent by the owner is an Old Testament prophet, who comes to call people back to God.  The beloved son is a reference to Christ Himself.  When the son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, this part of the parable is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem (Golgotha, where crucifixions took place, was outside the city walls of the time); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own "vineyard."  The others who will later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23, referring to Himself as the stone the builders rejected which becomes the chief cornerstone via the LORD's doing, which the text explains the leader and the people understand.

My study Bible explains that Jesus speaks in parables and riddles in part as He won't directly address those who ask Him questions maliciously about holy things, and this teaches us to do the same.  It seems that if we think about this carefully, we may observe that they don't really want to know the truth.  They are not looking for an honest answer from Jesus about holy things, but seek instead simply to trap Him, with hostile intent.  Therefore, they don't honestly deserve a real answer from Him; in a sense, it's none of their business -- because, although it is their given task as spiritual leaders, they've made it none of their business.  They have made it none of their business by being more interested in their positions and what they gain than the spiritual welfare of those in their charge.  This is given to us in today's reading when it is clear that they know the people believe John to have been a truly holy man, a prophet sent from God, and the leaders are afraid to confess their rejection of John.  It is doubled when the same answer is true for Christ Himself, that they reject Him although the people do not.  We can apply this understanding to our own lives, for it teaches us a powerful truth about our own spirituality and the welfare of our souls.  For we either make that a concern of ours -- business of ours -- or we don't.  There is a choice involved in our own welfare and spiritual standing.  We concern ourselves with such choices, or we do not.  We have the freedom to ignore the state of our souls entirely, focusing purely on worldly gain or loss or standing or failing, or choosing to incorporate -- even place first in our lives -- where we stand with God at all times.  This is always a choice on offer to us.  Repentance is the very process by which we turn from a "wrong direction" in terms of a relationship with God to a "right direction."  We turn from an ignorance or deliberate evasion of that relationship to restoring it and seeking to establish it more firmly.  In a sense, this is where the religious leaders are.  Jesus is there in the temple, having cleansed it from the money changers and animal sellers, establishing Himself with the authority these religious leaders question.  If it were not possible for them to repent by anything other than their own long road of choices behind them, then He would not be there speaking to them.  They still have the choice open to them, but they are not really interested in what He has to say.  They are too busy guarding their important and powerful places, with the exception of a few we can read about in the Gospels, such as Joseph of Arimathea (a Pharisee himself) or Nicodemus, or even those whom John's Gospel mentions who believed in Him but were afraid to say so because of the powerful among the Pharisees who were against Jesus (John 12:42).  St. Paul himself writes that he was a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee, and trained by the great teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3, 23:6; see also Acts 5:33-40).  As long as we are alive, we have the capability to repent.  The one thing that prevents us from doing so is a long, long road behind us going in the opposite direction.  In that we may lose our capability for reconsideration of our own choices.  But, as we are taught in the Gospels, with God all things are possible (see this reading).  Thus, we are to understand that sincerely calling upon God will have its results, and these men who will seek to destroy Jesus are capable of understanding what He has to tell them if they seek God with a sincere heart.  Since we know there were those on the Council who not only bravely followed Jesus, but who also secretly believed in Him but feared to openly say so, it is clear that this choice was open to each individual -- and we might conclude that it is always open to each one of us, to our friends, our family members, and those whom we love.  For Christ's truth, as St. Paul writes, reaches down into the deepest part of us, into places we thought could not be separated or divided from us, in order to reach and to teach in our most secret places, even hidden from us (see Hebrews 4:12).  Let us remember that Christ's words are for all of us, just as the people listen to the disputes in the temple, and among them many perceive the holiness of God's word.

It is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve"

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written,  'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,'

and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up, 
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"'

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

- Matthew 4:1-11

Yesterday we read that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tied to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  My study bible tells us that to be tempted means to be tested in fundamental areas of faith.  As in Mark's Gospel, the Spirit leads Christ (in Mark's Gospel, it is written effectively in the Greek that the Spirit "throws" Him) into the wilderness after He is baptized, to be tested by a struggle with the devil.  My study bible notes that we who are baptized in Christ need not be defeated by temptations because we are also aided by the Holy Spirit.  It says, "The wilderness is a battleground, an image of the world, both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory."

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  The subject of today's entire reading is a focus in which Jesus reverses Israel's falling to temptation in the wilderness.  What we note clearly is that temptation or testing is that which seeks to deviate us from loving and serving God, from sincerely seeking and doing God's will in all things.  The Israelites were tested forty years in the wilderness and proved both disobedient and disloyal.  God humbled them by first letting them go hungry and then feeding them with manna to help them learn to be dependent on God (Deuteronomy 8:2-5).  Here in this passage Jesus is tested with hunger for forty days, but He does not sin.  His answers to Satan are from Deuteronomy, and all call for loyalty to God.  My study bible tells us that Jesus fasted to overcome temptation, thereby giving to us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.   The hunger of His flesh doesn't control Him; instead He controls His flesh.  Our Lord's forty days-long fast is the foundation of the tradition of the Church's forty-day Lenten fast before Holy Week, and also in Church tradition a fast before Christmas.

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."   In this temptation, we observe that the devil challenges Christ's relationship to the Father.  If You are the Son of God is a direct calling into question what has just been declared by the Father at Jesus' Baptism (see yesterday's reading, above, in which the voice of the Father declares, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  The devil desires that Jesus should act independently and detach Himself from the will of the Father.   In His divine nature, we say that Christ shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He has said that He can do nothing of Himself (John 5:30) apart from the Father.  But in His humanity, He possesses free will and at all times must choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father.

But He answered and said, "It is written,  'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  My study bible says that by rejecting the first temptation, Jesus rejects an earthly kingdom and shows us not to pursue earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3).  But the New Adam, who is Christ, conquers all temptation by the divine word, which gives human nature the power to conquer Satan.

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, 
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"'  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  The holy city is Jerusalem, center of Jewish life, and the temple is the splendid temple of Jesus' time, which had been rebuilt and added to by Herod (called also "Herod the Builder" for his splendid projects of which the temple was the grandest and most beautiful), known in its time as one of the architectural wonders of the world.  Note that having seen how Christ had defeated him through the power of the Scriptures, Satan vainly tries to use the Scriptures to put God's power of protection to the test.  (See also 2 Peter 1:19-21.)

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Trials and temptations come on their own, my study bible says.  We should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the Lord. 

 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.  According to my study bible,  God's Kingdom isn't one of earthly power and possessions.  In the test of the devil, Jesus was being asked to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.  The devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  Jesus refuses this tempting road of earthly glory, which would in fact have led Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  (See also 16:21-23.)   The angels came and ministered to Him, as we too, perhaps unknowingly, are ministered to by angels.

We note that at the end of this series of temptations, the text tells us that the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.  As in a comment above, we note that we also -- although perhaps unbeknownst to us directly -- are ministered to by angels.  This image of Christ being tempted in the wilderness is a great message to us, because it gives us a mirror to our own lives.  We're constantly tempted by all kinds of "worldly" demands, whether they be from the flesh (that is, as something we experience as distinguished from our communion with God) such as Jesus' temptation to satisfy His hunger by using His power in a way that is not in accordance with true holiness nor serving God the Father.  Other worldly demands here mirror our desperate need for control, our own selfishness,  a temptation to worldly aggrandizement and power as reflection of who we are, a temptation even to tempt God and prove ourselves powerful indeed, and a whole host of recognizable worldly images in which we may find ourselves mirrored in tempting visions of what might be.  We are frequently caught up in our anxieties about what we have, about what we might miss, what we might need somehow, and our real fears for safety and security.  Jesus teaches about a kind of temptation of excess anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount, when He says that "sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (6:34).  Our own image in the eyes of others frequently serves as a springboard to temptation of thoughts about needs we don't really have, the desire to impress, and social ambition -- even a social "guilt" that we are "less than" others.  All of these things form temptations because they truly separate us from God, whom we know values humility, sincerity, genuineness, a willingness to love and dwell in communion with God's love.  But what we also have in today's reading is a reminder that there is all kinds of help provided to us should we choose, and truly desire, to find God's way for us through life, and thereby reject the temptations that come so fast and furiously in our lives.  We're bombarded by media images of what we "should" have, "should" look like, "should" attain or achieve or keep as worldly goals and exclusive focus in ways that shut God out of the picture in making a contribution to what are truly good goals for us.  There's now an established understanding that depression is widespread as a result of social media, in which we're showered with images of the great lives others seem to be having, particularly growing among the young (see for example this article, or this one).  These forms of temptation clearly mirror some of the temptations offered by the devil to Jesus.  But the story in today's reading also gives us an understanding that we, too, have help to combat what's not really good for us to dwell upon, the paths we're led down when such temptations become more important than a grounding in true reality.  We have the Holy Spirit also ministering to us and teaching us, Who is "everywhere present and filling all things," according to a traditional Orthodox prayer which is used at the beginning of all religious services or ceremonies (see this page of my blog).  And the angels are indeed ministering to all of us, even though our connection and perception of such things remains in the spiritual bedrock of life, something whose effects we know but may not recognize.  We have help in the Scriptures and in the Church, in the lives of the saints and their living prayers with us -- but especially in anything connecting us to living faith which we may find through literature or directly through friends, a pastor, the prayers of those who will help us.  These we turn to as a very present help indeed (Psalm 46:1).  The Psalms themselves remain through all time such a present help to us, for instance.  All of these sources root us in something more real than the images of fantasy, of what "could be" and the false images that seem to teach us that we are either this or nothing, or failure.  Better to be grounded in what surpasses time in the wisdom of its simplicity and transcendence, that emphasizes the inner heart and true values that form our treasures in heaven (6:19-21), those which give substance to the soul, and comfort and provide us with truth that does not desert us.  Above all, each temptation seeks to take us away from communion with God, from the true source of love, our ultimate confidence and grounding in what makes life good and gives peace.  Let us wish this for ourselves, and seek and find that which may turn away temptation to less satisfying goals, and keep us on the road to what is of more value and stays true to us in the long run and through our lives.  It all comes down to who and what we choose to worship.  It's not that we are always asked to choose to do without, but to put one thing first that informs all other choices.

Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce from your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

- Matthew 19:1-12

In yesterday's reading, we were told that after Jesus explained a system for mutual correction in the Church,  Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce from your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  My study bible notes that the basis of the Pharisees' test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  Jesus' overall concern is for love and he purpose of marriage as love and spiritual bond between husband and wife.  As is so often the case, the emphasis is on love and inclusion, particularly of the "weaker" one socially.  He speaks of the "hardness of your hearts" referring pointedly to the men, who were the only ones who could initiate divorce under Jewish law.  (Roman women could do so, but Jewish women could not.  These are the Pharisees He is speaking to.)  We really must keep in mind that He has just finished instructing the disciples about care of the "little ones," and about humility in His Church.  That is, a difference between the ways that worldly power is used and the ways that His holy power is used in service to God who is love.  (See, for example, Luke 9:55, in which Jesus told His disciples, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.")  Jesus hearkens in His answer the purpose of marriage as given in the creation of the world and of human life in the Garden, an image of peace and of love -- spiritual union as original principle of monogamous marriage.  For our weaknesses we are given consideration, and for the conditions of a world and human beings "separated" from God (what is called the Fall), and struggling with all kinds of resulting spiritual problems and oppression.  But the original purpose still stands in Jesus' teaching (see Genesis 1 and 2).  Jesus adds His own authoritative prohibitions against divorce, says my study bible, including the exception "except for sexual immorality."   But we must understand this in context of human weakness and compassion.  In the early Church, the reasons for permissible divorce were expanded to include a threat to spouse's or child's life and desertion.   This does not diminish the acknowledgement of the spiritual tragedy in such situations.  Abuse of a marriage bond must be seen in these terms.

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  For much of history, eunuchs were a class of people who held powerful offices within kingdoms and systems of hierarchy.   These were often men who had been castrated in order to hold such a position (such as in guarding women of nobility) or by birth, defect, disease, or mutilation.  Jesus is using the term figuratively for those whose practice is lifelong celibacy for the kingdom of heaven's sake.    This isn't a rejection of marriage; it's rather a holy or consecrated virginity, having nothing to do with self-mutilation (condemned at the First Ecumenical Council).  See St. Paul's discussion of marriage and celibacy in the early Church (1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38).

What is marriage?  We have to see in the image of marriage given in Genesis a kind of union of humanity, a sense in which hierarchy does not play a role.  Differences between men and women - regardless of current standards for equality - for almost all of human history have remained within a social category of power differences.  Most often, there are "realms" of women and "realms" of men, a kind of separation of social participation, such as in child rearing or running of the home (that includes for much of the world farming and economics as well).  But the picture we're given here goes beyond equality -- two "become one flesh."  Jesus  is talking about a spiritual union, consecrated by God who is love.  I believe we must see all of His teachings under this umbrella, whether we refer to the just-previous readings or the whole of the Gospels.  His concern is with the "little ones," and with love.  All the virtues named by my study bible apply here as well as to Jesus' statement, "Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (in Wednesday's reading).  That is, character traits of humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved are also those characteristics necessary on both sides for a good spiritual bond in marriage.  You don't find love without humility, or a willingness to love and be loved.  Dependence is for both partners, regardless of social status, as it exists in many dimensions and expressions.  As is so often the case, Jesus' teachings leave us with the understanding that our bonds and ties with one another don't just depend on one side, but upon each of us living in faith.  A marriage is a type of mirror of the two greatest commandments to love God with all one's heart and soul and strength, and to love neighbor with the same. The difference is that this bond goes much deeper than that with a neighbor; this is a bond that results in two becoming one.  And just as relevant are the teachings given in recent readings on mutual correction and forgiveness.  In this context, marriage has often been seen by the Church as the layperson's way to holiness.  A marriage is filled with an ongoing need for understanding and practice of loving mutual correction, the importance of self-awareness and acknowledgement of our own shortcomings and harm we may do, and for forgiveness.   Jesus gave us a picture of an open dialogue for "offenses" in His teaching on mutual correction in the Church.  A sound marriage (and good therapy and spiritual direction) will encourage the same truthfulness with love and capacity for forgiveness.  This is all the work of the heart, something we lose sight of too often in modern discussions about marriage and its nature.  Let us start with love and mercy, and the help of the grace of God, and take our perspective and "work" from there.   We don't live in a perfect world, but the practice of love requires consciousness, the discipline of obedience and humility, and the help of grace.  The abuse of such hope is always a spiritual tragedy.

I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded, he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

- Mark 6:13-29

Yesterday, we read that Jesus came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands?  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.   Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on more than two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  While Jesus' disciples now are sent out, with power to heal and cast out demons, King Herod comes to hear of Him.  Herod is Herod Antipas, who is the son of Herod the Great (he who commanded the slaughter of innocents in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth).  Herod Antipas is the governor of Galilee, called a king in popular language. 

And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded, he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.    Here we are given a flashback regarding the death of John the Baptist.  My study bible says that "early Christians regarded John the Baptist with utmost esteem.  Here, Mark shows John's fearlessness in telling the truth."  We note Herod's fear of the Baptist, a testimony to John's righteousness, that he was a just and holy man.  My study bible says, "The royally clad Herod was frightened of a man clothed in camel's hair, a servant of God who lived out in the desert."  But even this man who lived material power, raised in a ruthless environment of his father Herod the Great, has a kind of respect or fear of John's holiness, another kind of power.

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.  Here is a contrast of material power and its corruption, a place where any indulgence becomes an occasion for the use of that power -- and its incompatibility with holiness, with the power that is of God, of righteousness.  The corruption of Herodias, upon whom there are no real restrictions in terms of using power to shore up position, runs right through this family, her husband and her daughter.  Herod makes a lavish promise at his birthday, and wife and daughter take advantage.  The king cannot go back on a promise made with an oath and before the guests of the royal court.

The Gospels contrast for us state or material power with the power of holiness, with (in this case) John's righteousness.  John's fearlessness in speaking out has landed him in Herod's prison.  And yet the king has a kind of fascination, a fear of John.  He hears him gladly, we're told.  He protects John, although John is his prisoner, despite the fact that John's in prison for criticizing Herod's marriage to Herodias.  But it's John's righteousness that acts as a kind of power here -- and later on, when Jesus is seized and then sent by Pilate to Herod, we will see the same fascination in the king, who wishes to view Jesus' power for signs or miracles.  What we have is a very extreme contrast between material power and the power of holiness.  Holiness and righteousness seem to come in "packages" of humility:  in poverty, in those, like the apostles in yesterday's reading, who are told to "take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on more than two tunics."  The Apostles are told to stay wherever they are welcomed first, as opposed to kings who will only stay in the grandest lodgings, with the most high ranking individuals.  But Herod's corruption in this story goes in some sense much deeper than the material circumstances we witness, and the material rank and power and wealth that a king possesses.  This story today is about a kind of corruption that extends to the most basic unit of the society, through and in the family, and even into the relationship of mother to daughter.  The corruption of this family is violent and extraordinary, a mother teaching her daughter -- and using her daughter -- for the most bloodthirsty act we can imagine:  the beheading of a captive holy man.  That she would use a beautiful dance for this vicious outcome of a holy man's head on a platter gives us a visible picture of the corruption of an internal life so extreme as to be unforgettable in its violence.  Couched in the revelry of a birthday party, of a father pleased with a stepdaughter, making lavish promises of largess in gifts, what we find is the heart of the violence that plagues the world.  And it's at this depth that we have to think about corruption, because while all of us may not live in a king's palace, nor have a king's retinue or court or wealth or power on hand, all of us possess something of tremendous value, and that is the soul or the inner life.  This is where the Gospel takes us, not to the court of a king or a corrupt queen, but to the place where each of us decides what we love the most, where each of us lives with the choices we make.  And the difference between the real holiness of John and the corruption of this court and this family is just there:  in the heart.  That's where we really choose what we love best, what comes first.  And there, we all stand on equal ground.  Let us remember where our choices begin, and nurture the heart and the soul in ways that honor who we are and what we are capable of being.  Jesus emphasizes over and over again the inner life that makes the outer clean.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;  for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

- Mark 6:13-29

In yesterday's reading, Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth.  There He went and preached in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do not mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  My study bible notes here that Herod is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great and governor of Galilee, "called a king in popular language."  Jesus' fame has reached a place in His Galilean ministry where those who work for the power of Rome have heard of Him.  They govern the land.  We hear here the things that others are saying about Jesus, and the kind of power He exhibits.  Up through recent readings we have been taught about this power and how it works or does not (depending on faith), and how it has now been shared with and through the Apostles (see yesterday's reading).

But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;  for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Mark gives us a flashback, a reason for Herod's great fear that John the Baptist may have returned from the dead.  We see the circumstances of John's imprisonment.  He has condemned the marriage of Herod and Herodias.  But Herod himself knows John to be the holy man that he truly is, and "when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."  So we see a contrast in power:  the state power as used by Herod Antipas because of the things John said against his marriage, and the power of John's holiness, which is also to some extent understood by Herod, and fascinates him.  My study bible says that early Christians regarded John the Baptist with utmost esteem, and John's faith and zeal are made clear by Mark in this powerful testimony to John's fearlessness in telling the truth.  It adds that the fact that the king feared John tells us something about John's righteousness.  "The royally clad Herod was frightened of a man clothed in camel's hair, a servant of God who lived out in the desert."

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."   We see the cast of characters play out as given us by Mark.  There is the king who actually fears and is fascinated by the holiness of John.  But these two women tell us about the nature of worldly power; it is there simply to be exploited for furtherance of their own dreams and goals.  The holy power of John is contrasted in his righteousness, and his desire for the glory of God.  There's also a perverseness here to the role of mother and daughter; the daughter relies on her mother for guidance.  What is this maternal place reserved for here?  We contrast that to Mary, the Mother of Christ.  The daughter completely relies on her mother, as if she has no mind of her own, and is essentially exploited in return as if she is simply an extension of her mother, in furtherance of her mother's aims.  Again, the Gospel shows us the contrast between the power that comes of the holy, rooted in righteousness, and the worldly power that "lords it over" others.

And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.  Herod is "exceedingly sorry" but again the rules of worldly power come into play.  Every great person in his kingdom is there, and he has made this oath in front of all of them.  To be seen to back down in this context would be seen to be "weak" somehow -- in contrast to the true righteousness of repentance that cares for the opinion of God over the opinion of men.  So John the Baptist becomes a martyr, adding to his stature in the eyes of the early Christians.  This gruesome scene, of the "obedient" girl handing a present to her mother of John's head on a platter, teaches us about the levels of corruption in this particular expression of worldly power.  In contrast, Mark's gospel gives us the righteous response of John's disciples.  There is no clamor here for revenge or plotting or expression of violence, but of peace.  They take his corpse and lay it in a tomb.

So the Gospels -- here, through Mark's testimony -- give us the message about power.  What is worldly power, and what is holy power?  How is it contrasted with the power we've seen so far in Christ, the one who comes to uplift us from the afflictions of the strong man?  First of all, holy power is characterized by righteousness, a life lived for the glory of God, not simply for our own aggrandizement.  And there is the start of something for us to understand.  If God is love, as we are told in Scripture, then to glorify God is to glorify the source of love.  In faith, we trust in that Someone, and so we go back also to a relationship of love.  We trust that what God calls upon us to do is for the greater glory, the betterment, what is truly good for all.  And this is the relationship, the nature of the sacrifice, whatever it is, that we may be called upon to make in our own lives.  We see John the Baptist's great sacrifice in today's reading, made after a lifetime of the sacrifices of a holy man who lives for God and God's message of the coming Kingdom found in Christ.  Up until today's reading, in the past several readings, Mark's gospel has given us several examples of this divine power, where it works and where it doesn't work (among those neighbors who resent Him in yesterday's reading, for example), how it works through sharing it with others (the Apostles on their first mission in yesterday's reading).  We know what this "stronger man," Jesus, comes here to liberate us from and how He does that, through countless examples of healing and casting out demons, lifting affliction and oppression of all kinds.  And in today's reading we have the example by contrast of worldly power that exploits and uses and manipulates and is subservient to the opinions of man rather than that of God.  And so, we learn, through contrast, what not to be. We learn who we are to follow.  The Scriptures teach us all these things.  So let us think about power and what it is for and how it is used.  One power comes "of the world" and another "of God."  Which do you honor in your heart?  Which uses fear and exploits, and which serves love?