Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

 

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

- Matthew 24:45–51 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been teaching the disciples about the end times (beginning with Saturday's reading).  This prophesy has included the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and times of this age and its tribulations, His second coming, and the judgment that entails.  Yesterday we read this teaching:  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood,  they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

 

  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."   After all of this warning about the end times (and the destruction of Jerusalem), Jesus turns to parables to teach us what our attitude should be at this time.  "This time" refers to the "time of the end" which includes the entire Christian era, and not simply a short period of time prior to His return.  The "end times" thus began with the Christian era; the tribulations and difficulties for believers have continued with us from the earliest days of the Church in many ways and forms.  Perhaps today they seem to us more intensified than in the past, and indeed many people have experienced this themselves.  (One look at the 20th century's persecution of Christians should sober our perspective.  This article claims that over half of all Christian martyrs over the course of the existence of the Church died in the past century.)  But ours is not to make prophesies nor timetables of His return, and Jesus has taught that only the Father knows when this will happen.  This short parable of the faithful and wise servant is meant to teach us what our disposition is supposed to be through these times.  We are to be just that:  faithful and wise servants to Him, following His commands.  Note how Christ phrases this parable in terms of how we treat our fellow servants, how we spend our time and live our lives (whether or not we are indolent or "drunken," ignoring or forgetting our faith), and the return of our Master.  He has repeatedly emphasized the surprising nature of His return and judgment, in that it will happen when we don't expect it -- and this is particularly true for those paying no attention to their faith and the living of it.  The judgment is assured for the hypocrites and those like them.  Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a reference to the anguished state of those in hell, suggesting a type of prison.  As my study Bible comments (noted in recent blog posts), Christ's greatest emphasis for the faithful is on watchfulness and readiness for Christ's return.  To be watchful is to be alert -- not for signs nor timetables, but rather for all the opportunities to practice our faith, to follow His commandments, to deepen that faith and find the cross He asks us to bear in our particular way.  We are to be ready and prepared simply by living our faith, and making all effort to endure in our faithfulness despite the temptations of the world and the distractions inherent in tribulation and difficulty.  This is His command to us, as evidenced in this final parable we're given in this chapter.  In chapter 25 which follows, Jesus will continue with parables indicating how we are to live in this time (that is, the time following His life-giving ministry, death, Resurrection, and Ascension) -- as we await His return.  Let us be the faithful, alert servants, conscious of our calling, looking toward His return, which He asks us to be. 

 

 

 

And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand"

 

 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.  

 

"Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  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 10:5-15 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

 

  These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food."  My study Bible explains that the disciples' mission is like Christ's:  to preach and to heal.  It asks us to note that Jesus sends them only to the Jews.  It says that Christ's earthly ministry was focused on the Jews (Matthew 15:24) so that, after the Resurrection, the Jews could not blame the disciples for going "to uncircumcised men" (Acts 11:3).  Jesus is preparing them to be single-minded in their mission to preach and to heal.  First He emphasizes for them that His power is free; that is, it is a gift from God.  And second, He teaches them to carry no money, so that they cannot be accused of greed -- and so that they would learn dependence upon God. 

 

 "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  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!"  My study Bible notes that Christ commissions His servants to give a greeting of peace, the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), that Christ Himself will offer to the disciples (John 14:27; 20:19), and that would be revealed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  

 

Let us look at some elements of Christ's commissioning and instructions to the disciples on this first apostolic journey which may seem somehow contradictory to us.  Perhaps to modern ears, we're used to thinking of "good" and "bad" in terms of what loving behavior is, and what it is not.  But the truth of Christ is a kind of two-edged sword, if we can put it in such metaphorical terms, as did St. Paul (Hebrews 4:12).  We either embrace that truth or we don't.  We either embrace His gospel message, or we don't.  And as the Person who is truth (John 14:6), we receive Him or we don't.  That is, the fullness of His message, His person, His grace is the complete expression of truth into which we seek to grow as we enter into communion with Him.  So there is a type of double-edged quality to the mission and instructions with which He sends out these disciples now chosen to become apostles.  The apostles' character and demeanor must be one of peace and humility, just as Christ Triumphal Entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem was that begins what we know as Holy Week (Matthew 21:1-11), as conveyed in His being seated on the colt of a donkey.  They will carry no money, nor will they dress ostentatiously.  They will be dependent upon how they are received wherever they go.  They are not to "trade up" for better accommodations, but stay in the first place where they are welcomed ("stay there till you go out").  As my study Bible pointed out, these apostles are to greet every household where they go to preach, presumably with the common greeting of offering peace.  But Jesus tells them something that stands out in a modern world that doesn't often understand discernment.  He instructs the apostles, "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  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."  As the disciples do not go out into the world in their own names, they go out in the name of Christ, and He has given them His power to take into the world to do its healing work on so many levels, including the offering of His peace.  If they are rejected, so it is Christ's power and mission and grace that is rejected; Christ's peace is rejected, so it will return to the apostles.  To shake the dust from their feet is a rebuke, but it's also symbolic.  We are reminded that Christ is also the judge, and He will judge at the end of the age.  Is our final end only to be that dust?  (See Genesis 3:19.)  His words affirm this power of judgment:  "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!"   In the world, the work of the Holy Spirit, the power of God, works as a kind of measure.  We accept the promptings and work of the Spirit, or we do not.  But this "measure" is something that bears fruit in the final judgment of Christ.  We all have a lifetime to work out what we love and what we don't, what we accept and that which we reject.  Only Christ can judge, and only God knows the true heart of people.  Let us take seriously these instructions given to the disciples, for the power they carry with them is not only the grace and power of Christ at work in ministry, to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons."  As they have freely received of Christ, so they are to freely give.  This includes as well the peace of Christ, and the power of His word.  Moreover, with them, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."  God's grace and love is freely given, but we are also free to reject it.  However, the reality of the power of God is the very reality of life and existence itself, even of all creation.  We should understand the power of Christ's healing word and grace, and what we reject for ourselves when we can't or don't receive it.  It carries the power of forgiveness for sins, a great healing grace indeed, and the love to heal us spiritually, to heal the soul.  Consider what is turned down, in turning away that grace, and what remains without it.    The lost sheep are those He seeks; without the Shepherd, we remain only lost.  But yet still, He offers us the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

 

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

- Matthew 24:45-51 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been in Jerusalem, and it is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  After disputing with the religious authorities in the temple, Jesus is now outside of the temple, and He has been teaching the disciples regarding the "end times" and also the destruction of the temple and the Siege of Jerusalem to come.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught them, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." 

 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  We recall that Christ is speaking to His disciples here, and that He has just given them a great prophesy and warning regarding "end times" and also His Second Coming.  Here in this parable, the faithful and wise servant is a reference to those who would be faithful and wise disciples.  The ruler over the master's household applies to those who would become the stewards and presbyters and leaders of the Church, in charge of Christ's flock.  Will they be giving Christ's household food in due season, spiritually nurturing and caring properly for the members of the household?  Or will they be forgetful of who they must be (evil servant), abusing power (beat his fellow servants), self-indulgent and selfish (eat and drink with the drunkards) and defying the the Lord whom they are meant serve (my master is delaying his coming)?  

 

In St. Matthew's chapter 23, just before He began His prophesy of end times and destruction of the temple, Jesus gave His final public sermon, in which He chastised the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy.  Here, He's telling His own disciples -- which include us today -- that if they fail in their mission through similar practices, then the fate of the scribes and Pharisees (the "woes" of chapter 23) will be one they share at His return and the judgment that takes place then (appoint him his portion with the hypocrites).  Once again, Christ repeats the theme that He will come at an hour we do not expect, only this time the warning is pointed directly at those who will become the stewards of His Church, who are meant to be His servants (the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him at an hour that he is not aware of).  Weeping and gnashing of teeth are images of condemnation in the judgment.  This is contrasted with the faithful and wise servant who is blessed because the master returns to find that servant caring properly for all those of the household.  In contrast to the others, the faithful and wise servant will be made ruler over all the master's goods.  This is similar to the promises made to the disciples following the story of the rich young ruler, who was told that if he wanted eternal life, he should sell all he had and give to the poor, and follow Christ.  At that point, St. Peter asked Christ, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"  Jesus replied by referring to His Second Coming and the subsequent judgment:  "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  (See Matthew 19:13-30.)  So, the Gospels are consistent, and Christ's warnings and prophesies are consistent, about what we are to be about while we await His return in this entire period of the Church.  We, who would be His wise and faithful servants,  are those who remember our Lord and Master, and the commandments He's left us with in His absence, taking such responsibilities to those in His household seriously.  With what do we feed others that is the food of our Lord?  How do we share what we have and nurture our fellow members of this household, under His name?  What good things do you share of Christ's household?  How do we nurture others with the treasure we're given?  Christ promised that He was the Good Shepherd, and the Door of the sheep, who came not only that the sheep may have life, but that they may have life more abundantly (John 10:1-18).  Let us take seriously that abundant life we're given and how we share it in nurturing others, for He desires to find us as good servants who do not forget Him during His absence before His return.  Let us be those who live His final, new commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing

 

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

- Matthew 24:45-51 

 

In our recent readings (chapter 24 of Matthew's Gospel), Jesus has been describing to the disciples the end times, teaching about what is to come (beginning with Saturday's reading).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." 

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave His disciples (and by extension, all who consider themselves His followers) instructions that, regarding the end times, the byword for the faithful is to watch and be ready (see verses 42-44).  This means that in order to be prepared for His return, we are to continue in virtue and in obeying His commandments.  Today's reading gives us a parable illustrating His warnings.  We are like servants left in charge of a household while the master is away.  If you were to go away from your home, leaving others in charge of it in your absence, what would you like to find when you return?  Jesus describes a great household, akin to His Church, one in which there are many servants and in which the responsibility is great of those left in charge in the master's absence.  He describes 'lawless' behavior, in which the servant responsible begins to beat his fellow servants, abusing them, and to eat and drink with drunkards (those who care not for responsibility).  We have already read Jesus' great condemnation of the hypocrites among the religious leaders of His time (see chapter 23).  Among those who are His disciples and followers, the abusers and those who forget the responsibility of His commandments will be counted among the hypocrites.  "Weeping and gnashing of teeth" describe the state of those cast out of God's kingdom.

 

 In John's Gospel, Jesus adds one commandment to all the rest, the new commandment which He leaves with His followers.  He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34).  Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, as Jesus was quizzed in the temple by the leaders, He was asked by a scribe what the greatest commandment was in the Law.  He gave two, saying, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  So we are left, essentially, with three great commandments we are to follow:  to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind; to love our neighbor as oneself; and to love one another as Christ has loved us.   These are the commandments given to the disciples, and through them, to us who would call ourselves followers of Jesus.  And, by inference, we can assume from today's parable that it is these commandments left to the servant while the master is away that the servant fails to fulfill -- that in Christ's warning parable to us, we are taught we are to be about.  It is these three powerful commandments which sum up Old and New Testaments, and everything else we know of worship and practice and living our faith is basically a fulfillment of these.  So while He is gone, His Church, and indeed, His world, is left to us to sustain, to tend, to care for, and uphold in all things which are good in His absence.  He expects us, as good servants, to understand as best we can and grow in that understanding, to tend to His household, to care for our fellow servants, to love God as He has taught and to love our neighbor as one created like ourselves, and to love one another as He has loved us.  We ask ourselves, how has Christ loved us?  He has not failed to correct, to warn, to give good commands and teachings.  That is also part of love.  He has on many occasions expressed His compassion, and that compassion reflects and teaches us also the compassion of God.  But most of all, He is a Good Shepherd, instructing day by day with all patience, tending, guiding, and loving with  warmth and love that radiates from the pages of Scripture with a kind of glow we detect when we are in need, when we meet Him here, when we find Him as He continually seeks out each one of us (Matthew 18:12-13).  So, how do we love like Christ?  Note that love also has the components of goodness and truth and beauty:  goodness in the teachings of Christ which sustain and nurture growth and health, truth in that we are given the straight talk and nothing is sugar-coated or false, and beauty in the compassion and grace embedded in them all.  Christ does not feed us with fantasies, but with the bread of life, the real things we need.  Let us strive to be like Him and not forget what we are to be about as good servants upon whom His household depends until the time of His return.

Your son lives

Christ Pantocrator, c. 1100.  Daphni Monastery, Greece.  Scripture open to John 8:12

 Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans, received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they had also gone to the feast.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43-54

On Saturday we read that Jesus' disciples came to find Him speaking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the man, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

 Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans, received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they had also gone to the feast.   Jesus' own country is Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the Passover (2:13-25), where apparently Jesus performed many signs that are not explicitly given to us in the Gospel, although this is the second time John has mentioned such signs at the Passover (see 2:23).    My study bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom assigns greater credit to the Samaritans for having accepted Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see the past three readings of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, above).  Let us note that while He is received because of the signs these Galileans have reported from the Passover feast, He does not "commit Himself" to them (2:24).  Moreover, as the text makes clear, Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country, a statement repeated in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  My study bible says that Christ is here admonishing the people in general, as you in Christ's statement is plural both times, and not merely the nobleman.  It says that faith which is based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation.  Such a type of incomplete faith will quickly turn to scorn when miracles cease (19:15).

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  My study bible comments that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a  distance.  Neither does he know that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  Finally, he thinks to inquire about the timing of the healing, while he still doesn't completely trust in the Lord's authority.  Only when it is confirmed do he and his whole household believe.  My study bible says that therefore, by healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not only the body of the child, but also the soul of the nobleman.   This is the second sign of seven given in John's Gospel.  In the first chapter, Jesus revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (1:45-48), and now He demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  My study bible says that this shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  There are similarities between this sign and the miracle reported in Matthew 8:5-13, but there are also enough differences that we may consider them to be two different encounters among many.  John Himself writes of the many signs and works of Jesus' ministry which go unreported, in the final verse in the Gospel:  "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (21:25).

That John reports many signs Jesus has done without explicitly naming them or describing them adds a particular dimension to John's Gospel.  That is, that we are given seven specific signs in detail, out of the many that reportedly were done.  Therefore we can conclude that John gives us these specific signs for a reason.   It is part of a systematic, deliberate method of revelation.  These particular signs are given in this way for a reason; they tell us something particular about Jesus, and give us insight into who He is in a particular way.  His first sign was to turn water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.  Here in today's reading is another Galilean miracle, performed in His home country.  A nobleman, perhaps a ruler in the synagogue, comes to Jesus because his son is ill.  He pleads and is desperate as his son is dying.  Let us note that it is in the middle of this report, right after the request is made to Jesus, that He complains about the Galileans:  "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  Here is the crux or heart of the story, as it occurs right in the middle of it.  Jesus pauses to make note of the fickleness of their faith, even the hardness of hearts, that they will not believe without signs and wonders.  It gives one pause to think that perhaps this sign is given in this particular way in order to reveal Christ to those incapable of faith otherwise.  This particular sign will unfold without regard for space nor time, as Jesus can both heal from a distance and also pause to reflect on the nature of their particular lack of faith.  In this way, the nobleman may do his own checking on the particular time of this healing, and so affirm Christ's word and come to faith, even that of his whole household.  We can conclude from this sign that we might doubt all we will, but God is aware of our time and our place, and neither time nor space form barriers to the work of God nor barriers to our prayer.  I have a friend who frequently speaks about "God's perfect timing," and this particular sign is certainly one instance of that.  Having experienced such timing in my own prayer life, I can only affirm what others teach, and that it has been true in my experience as well.  We often forget that God sees and hears in secret (Matthew 6:6).  Today's reading, and this second sign, affirms what was hinted at in the Name (I AM) given by Jesus at Jacob's well to the Samaritan woman (in Friday's reading), that there is no place where God is absent.  There is nothing of which Christ is unaware, no place He cannot be nor reach with His power, nothing He does not see.  It is a sense of confirmation of the mind and intelligence of God which misses nothing, knows our ailments and agonies, hears our prayers, and is master over elements of time and space.  Let us also remark that there are times when our prayers seem to be unheard.  But of what we know of God, we may also find ourselves in particular circumstances for a reason, with our prayers invited at all such times, and outcomes which must be put into God's hands, difficulties in which we are challenged to invite God to help us cope and to set our own minds aright.  Sometimes, as in Christ's own experience of the Cross, we are in a place of struggle in which we come to find that we are never alone.  This is also the place for prayer, a request, a plea, an understanding that God awaits our call in every time and place and circumstance.  Christ's transformative power, present to turn water to wine and to heal this boy from a distance, may also be at work in our grief and in our disappointment, touching circumstances to heal even what we don't want to accept.   In the icon above, of Christ Pantocrator ("Almighty"), the Scripture is open to John 8:12:  "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Let us remember that it is our prayer that calls that light into any and all circumstances in which we find ourselves.  There is none too deep, too far away, too far removed for Him to reach and enlighten for us.  His light is the light of life.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

Panagia Grigoroussa ("The Quick"), modern icon, Greece

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

- Matthew 24:45-51

 In our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking to the disciples about the end times, which incorporates a prophecy about the destruction to come to the temple and to Jerusalem within a generation (beginning with Saturday's reading).   "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."   If we take a close look at this parable, we see that it is directed toward the disciples, and specifically the apostles and their successors who will be leaders in the Church.  That is, to those whom the master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season.  In this time of prophesy of end times, in which Christ leaves His flock in the care of those who are meant to be faithful and wise servants, note that Jesus makes the analogy of feeding to pastoral care.   Once more, as He has already done several times, His warnings are against abuses in the Church, exploitation of the little ones, the less powerful, and excesses of power; self-indulgence rather than service.  He has just finished His address to the Pharisees and scribes, an eight-fold prophesy of woe and condemnation of their hypocrisy.  Here, He indicates that those who are meant to serve Him and fail to care faithfully for His household will be appointed his portion with the hypocrites. 

 Throughout the Gospel, we have read Jesus giving "exhortations to principles of virtue and warnings against corruption," as my study bible characterizes this final parable.  This is primarily directed toward the disciples, the ones who will be placed in positions of power in the Church.  But really, if we look carefully at all that He has said before regarding the prophecy of end times and the destruction of the temple, we should understand it as applying to all of the faithful.  At some level, each of us is appointed a servant, each of us awaits the Master's return, as we follow His prophecy and promise regarding His second coming.  Note that we all may give them food in due season.  That is, we might cultivate our own stores of virtue to share with others, following the directions and guidance of the Master even in His absence.  Jesus says that the evil servant in the parable says in his heart,  "My master is delaying his coming."   This easily applies to those of us who await His return these millennia later.  St. Peter addresses this problem in his Second Epistle, when he writes, "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, 'Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' "  St. Peter then reminds us of the psalm, when he continues, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:3-8).  According to St. Peter, the purpose of lag or delay in fulfilling this promise of His return is for repentance; it is patience and time before the day of Judgment.  We in this world have things to learn, time to change our minds or repent.  We have experience of life so that we might reflect and come to terms with the teachings we're given.  In this sense, the delay is from the love of Christ, just as a good parent gives his or her children time to mature and to grow.  So, in this time of awaiting the Master's return, what do we do to feed and care for one another?  Clearly Jesus indicates that it is necessary that we refrain from "beating our fellow servants," not practicing violence, aggression, manipulation, not "pushing people around," so to speak.  Neither are we to "eat and drink with the drunkards," indulging ourselves in every self-centered impulse, forgetting who we are to be and the things to which Christ calls us as His servants, remembering His commands.  Certainly we are to remember Him, to be aware, and not to lose ourselves in the distractions of the day and the time.  As we await His return, we remember who we are and what we are to be about, we watch faithfully, caring for His household, maintaining our own good order for the sake of all the others as well.  In yesterday's reading, the icon type was one which depicted Mary, the Mother of God, as the One who is "Quick to Hear" our prayers (Panagia Gorgoepikoos).  Today, the icon above is similar, in that its title is Panagia Grigoroussa, the One who is Quick (to help us).  Panagia means All-Holy, and is a title for Mary; Grigoroussa is from the Greek word for "quick" or "swift."  She (as Christ's parable reminds us we are all to be as good servants) is the one who comes swiftly to help us, to respond to our requests for aid.  Her name Grigoroussa is also translated as "vigilant," meaning the one who is alert or awake to respond quickly to requests.   Let us remember that all of us are to be profitable servants, awake and alert to the tasks at hand, to the care and feeding of our fellow servants, to hear prayers and to pray with others as intercessors for one another.  This is how we await His return, and also how we await at this time the celebration of His birth into the world.

And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand"

Christ and the twelve disciples as True Vine and branches, 16th century, Byzantine Museum, Athens, Greece

 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.  Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whosoever 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 10:5-15

On Saturday we read that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food."  My study bible comments that the disciples' mission is like Christ's.  He sends them out to preach, and to heal.  So, in this sense, by investing them with His power, and sending them out with these instructions, He is extending His ministry.  My study bible also asks us to take note that Jesus sends them only to the Jews.  It says that Jesus' earthly ministry was focused on the Jews (15:24) so that, after the Resurrection, they could not blame the disciples for going "to uncircumcised men" (Acts 11:3).  Note also that Christ prepares the disciples to be single-minded in their mission to preach and heal.  Here reminds them that His power is free; that it is a gift from God.  He also instructs them to carry no money, so that they cannot be accused of greed, as well as learning dependence upon God (see also 8:20).

"Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whosoever 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!"    My study bible says that the greeting of peace that Christ commissions His servants to give is the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), and which He offers to His disciples (John 14:27, 20:19), and which will be revealed as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  This peace remains today offered to the faithful in worship services, with the words, "Peace be to all."

One thing we can say about this ministry that is extended to the disciples:  it is characterized in all of the instructions of Christ as humble.  Each direction He gives commands humble behavior in their ministry.  They first of all must focus on "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  It's a kind of setting of boundaries and proper focus.  Jesus limits their mission to the first people among whom they need to go, and they are not to expand past these "lost sheep," to call them back to God.  It is a way of saying that the grand and great harvests of faithful that will come later in all the world are not to distract them now from those who need them so deeply.  These "lost sheep" are the same, in fact, which the Gospel told us were scattered and weary, like sheep having no shepherd (in Saturday's reading, above).  This is humble in its focus, not grandiose, and not too widely drawn.  They must be aware of the limits set upon them in this ministry.  It is only their work itself that is to speak for them and for Christ's ministry which they represent in the world.  They are to preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "  They are to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons."  Jesus reminds them of the nature of this kingdom, when He instructs them,  "Freely you have received, freely give."   This kingdom does not represent itself to the world with silver and gold, in adorned chariots and with great armies of cavalry.  It is free of charge, and its great gifts and pearls are the product of grace.  Its emissaries are not ostentatious, nor do they seek to impress with material goods, gorgeous clothing, nor even largess with which to buy food.  They don't go out into the world as do other kingdoms, conquering.  Instead, their mission is the opposite:  they bring the peace of the Lord with them, and this is what they offer.  Let us note also that this peace is either received or rejected.  There is no sense here of an automatic reception or even that everybody will want what they offer.  This is a particular kind of peace, for a particular kind of people who are attuned to it and want it.  Like the swine-keepers and townspeople who begged Christ to leave from their region, what Jesus offers (and now through the disciples) is not necessarily what everyone wants.  It carries its own message with it, its own way of life, its humility, its impact.  Let us note that humility does not mean without power and without effects.  Jesus proclaims to the disciples regarding those who refuse this their ministry, "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!"  This mission and ministry carries its own way of being in the world, and it is in accordance with a kingdom that is not of this world.  There is no fanfare and there are no trumpets announcing their entrance.  There is only the ministry and the work they do, the things they preach.  And there is a kind of peace that will pass by unnoticed if one is not attuned nor receptive to it.  The kingdoms of the world conquer with weapons -- from the great armies of Caesar, to the powerful armies and economies of today.  But Christ's kingdom asks us if we value something entirely different; that is, something that we need a different kind of sensitivity and attunement to value.  We can live in this world, and in a certain sense, we can even be "of" this world, functioning within and understanding its workings.  But He still takes us out of this world if we are His followers.  We ask for and live for and seek to share His peace, we nurture within us and cherish His joy, we desperately need His grace and are aware of that need.  He does not ask us to reject the material or the world; He is both human and divine for a reason.  And yet, the humility He teaches tells us of what is truly needful, at our deepest core, and what must guide the whole of our lives as stewards of whatever God gives us.   We, as His followers, must cherish what comes first.  How do you extend Christ's mission through discipleship?  What comes first?  How does humility regulate your life, even your ambitions and prospects for what Christ asks of you?  How do you nurture His peace and joy within?

Sir, come down before my child dies!

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43-54

Yesterday we read the continuation of the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman.  After He had revealed Himself to her as Messiah, at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And may more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  Jesus' own country is Galilee.   This saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country is repeated in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).  It tells us, importantly, about the nature of what prophets reveal, and our unwillingness or difficulty to see beyond our own assumptions and certitudes.  Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover (see this reading).  There Jesus had performed many signs.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, greater credit is given by St. John Chrysostom for accepting Christ based on words alone without accompanying signs (see also 20:29).

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.   Today's reading gives us the second sign of seven described in John's Gospel, although we're told there were others, such as at the feast, above (the first was at the wedding at Cana).  Although Jesus has already revealed He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (such as when He spoke to Nathanael, 1:45-48), in today's sign He reveals that He can heal from a distance.  My study bible says that this shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  Although there are similarities between this sign and the miracle of Matthew 8:5-13, the story of the healing of the centurion's servant, there are also crucial differences; these are considered two different encounters.

Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  Here Christ admonishes the people in general (you is plural both times), and not simply the nobleman.  My study bible comments that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation; this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn if the miracles cease (19:15).

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  My study bible notes here that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't comprehend that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance.   Neither does He understand that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  In the end, he inquires about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting in the authority of Christ.  Only after all of this is confirmed, he and his whole household believe.  Therefore we  infer that Jesus heals not only the body of the child but also the soul of the nobleman.

Sometimes we desperately pray for things, and we have to wait for what we want.  Although this nobleman's child is healed instantly when Jesus speaks to him, he still has the experience of anxiously praying in an urgent situation, and waiting on Jesus' word.  Even as Jesus speaks to him and tells him, "Go your way; your son lives," the nobleman still has to experience waiting -- as he does not believe until he has it confirmed to him that indeed the child is healed.  Our prayers are similar, in that our own expectations define what we pray for.  There is a timing and a method of how our prayers are answered that is determined only by Christ, by God.  In a strange sense, we frequently find in retrospect a complicated divine timing no human being could have planned in the answers to prayers.  Most frequently, I personally would add, the answers to my prayers do not come in the form that I asked for!  But there is a deeper meaning, answer, and divine plan at work that gives instead what I need -- and that is particularly true for the need I have of growing in faith.  The complex answers to prayers may sometimes be disheartening, a letdown, a disappointment -- but the answer, I find, is always one that in the end tests and strengthens our faith, if we but follow the road of God set out for us.  Often there are hidden gems within disappointments.  Even a death, in my personal experience, which seemed entirely tragic, turned out in retrospect to have been a blessing for the one who passed, as deeper and complex health issues leading to great suffering were revealed after the fact.  Praying is a simple thing for us, seemingly, to do.  But the depth of complexity behind the prayers, and into which we step when we pray, is something absolutely beyond the comprehension of any of us.  We step into a cosmos of the created order, including saints and angels we know not of, when we enter into prayer and participate in this kingdom of heaven.  We pray with the angels.   Intercessory prayer enters into a communion with others, even those who have passed but who live to Christ.  This depth of complexity also leads us into the issue of time itself, such as is the focus of today's reading.  What is Christ's time?  It is eternal, not in the way that we experience time.  And yet, timing in an answer to a prayer often seems so astoundingly apt, precise, something happens in ways we can't calculate ourselves, in the right order, in the time we needed it.  Life is complex and mysterious, but those very factors are things that become a part of ourselves when we participate in the life of God through prayer.  We don't realize it, but we intersect with what is vast and deep, and yet also concerned with each one of us.  Jesus teaches us that the very hairs of our head are numbered, and that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the awareness of God the Father (Luke 12:6-7).  The healing of the nobleman's son is an astonishing second sign in the Gospel of John, but our own lives remain every bit as dramatic, as full, as intersected into the life of God as this -- if we can but see what God asks us to see, and to listen and hear in the communion we can know through prayer.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

- Matthew 24:45-51

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it is what we know as Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' earthly life.  In yesterday's reading, He continued His prophesy of the destruction of the temple and war in Jerusalem, but also of the end times and His return.  After giving His warnings and prophecy of what is to come, He taught them, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his   goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus gives us a parable to explain the circumstances of the time period we are in, while we await His return or Second Coming.  We're to be the good servants who, in the absence of the Master, remember and follow His commands, taking care of His household and all of those in it.  It's interesting to see that, as Jesus is speaking to His disciples, He explains the circumstances in terms of leadership:  those who would be great in His home, and become ruler over all his goods.   Those who fail to follow His commands which require that we care for one another in the ways that He has taught are those who will be cast out when the Master returns.

It's very interesting that Jesus' parable is given in terms of appropriate leadership and responsibilities among those who are His servants.  It is designed to teach us what we are to be about, and to explain our own positions as His followers.  Are we going to be loyal and faithful?  In this context, faithfulness is not about belief, but the willingness to follow His commandments.  That is, our capacity to have faith in Him and thereby His teachings and His commands for our behavior as those who love Him and are loyal to Him.  In Jesus' parable, we are given the image He wants us to have of faithfulness.  Are His commands sacred to us?  He is the head of the household, and as His true servants, we do as He teaches, as He wants His household to be run.  It is all about how deep our loyalty and trust goes, and how devoted we can be in His service.  We are to care for one another, and not to treat one another badly.  His specific example here is of the faithful and wise servant . . . made ruler over the household, to give them food in due season.   What does it mean to give food to the household?  With what do we nourish one another, in His word?  Jesus' example of the evil servant is the one who tells himself, "My master is delaying in his coming," and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards.  Those who defy His commands are negligent, abusive, and destructive, entirely forgetful of what makes for a good life and a good rule in His household.  So where are we on that scale?  The good news is that when we come to ourselves (like the Prodigal Son), we recall what we are to be about, we can resume our efforts in His service, repenting of our failures.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

- Matthew 24:45-51

 In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has made the Triumphal Entry, cleansed the temple, and been interrogated by various groups of the religious establishment.  As Jesus stepped out of the temple, He began a discourse about the time to come in Jerusalem (the destruction of the temple), and also the end of the age, His Second Coming.  See the readings from Saturday and Monday for the earlier parts of this discourse.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus gives us the image of stewardship as the model for what we are to be about in His absence, as we await His return.  It gives us pause to think about what a good steward really is.  The Church here is in an image of a "household" and a steward would be the one who is "ruler" or manager over the household, making sure it's running smoothly, well-stocked with goods, and economically in good condition.  There are two senses in which Jesus gives what is a violation of the good conduct of the steward, but they both start with the thought that the Master is delayed.  So, the first thing we learn from Jesus' parable here is to emphasize remembrance:  we must remember that His Return will happen at a time we can't predict.  To keep a constant thought about this reality is a part of what it is to be a true disciple.  The failure to do so here in this example is to result in two ways of failing to be a good steward.  One of those is to beat one's fellow servants.  That would be a sense in which "stewardship" turns into brutality and self-aggrandizement, a failure to hold strongly in mind the concept of the Master's return and how the Master wishes His servants to behave toward one another.  It is a failure to keep in mind our essential equality and "belovedness" before the Master.  This behavior would be similar to the behavior expressed in the parable of the wicked vinedressers, an arrogance that usurps the place of the Master and acts with injustice, brutality, exploitation.   The second way to fail at stewardship is to be totally careless of all responsibility by "eating and drinking with drunkards" and therefore to fall down on the job, and forget what we are to be about.   That still seems to involve a kind of exploitation of assets of the house for personal indulgence, and so, while we each hold positions of stewardship in one way or another in our own lives, we also must conclude that He is especially speaking here to those who will be among the leadership of the Church, His chosen apostles, and those who will succeed them.  Once again, we're also given the promise that the Master will return on a day and an hour when He's not expected, and there most certainly will follow a "reward" appropriate to the behavior He's warned about.  If you think about it, we may still be awaiting His return to the world, but none of us can say when our lives will end, how many opportunities we will have (or with which people and situations), or at what point we will be meeting the Master.

"Stewardship" involves a good many things, but there is one thing we must always keep in mind that's clear from the parables Jesus teaches on this subject, and that is the nature of property ownership and our relationship to the Master.  Who "owns" the Church?   Does anyone own fellow servants?  The model that Jesus teaches here is one in which we are all fellow servants, and the true ownership of all the goods in this grand household doesn't rest with any of us, but with God.  It sets up the idea that whatever we do with our lives, in our jobs as servants to the Master, we must remember that the things we have in our lives, the people we have in our lives, and this great gift of the gospel (the good news of the kingdom) and of His Church, is not something that is "owned" by any of us.  We are all stewards.  The property is the Master's, and, as good stewards, it's our job to follow the will of the Master in the ways in which we conduct ourselves:  how we use the things put at our disposal or in our charge, and how we conduct ourselves with respect to our fellow servants.  One example of the ways in which this parable of stewardship is put to use has become an issue for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew, who has championed the idea that the world is a beautiful gift from God, and that it is our job as stewards to care for the world in a way that preserves its beauty and goodness.  This would especially extend to issues of pollution of natural resources, and of course their protection for future generations.  If we think about it, Jesus' encouragement here for all of us to be aware of His return at all times essentially is a way for us to remind ourselves what the conduct of a good life is like.  It gives us a heightened sense of awareness, of mindfulness (to use a commonly used term of spirituality today) of what we are always to be about.  When we keep in mind that ownership of everything is in God's hands, it may give us a sense of respect and of care that Christ Himself, the Master, suggests here.  In this sense, we're all stewards, and we must all practice care of the good, the beautiful gifts of God's grace, including how we relate to our fellow servants, and how we care not just for the world, but for this gospel.  Who owns it?  Whose good news is it?  Nobody owns this kingdom, which is a free gift of the Master, whose gift it is to give.  Let us be mindful of the things put into our hands:  our lives, our talents, our resources, a beautiful world filled with good things.  How about the distribution of the "good news" -- the gospel of the kingdom?  How do we steward our lives in remembrance of the Master?  What is just and what is not?  How do we live with this awareness and watchfulness, and not fall down on the job?  What good things are you given stewardship over?  How does the Master's love guide you in your life, to be a faithful and wise servant?