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

 

 Then 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 of 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 teacher; 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."

 

- Matthew 23:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'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."  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.  

 

 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying . . .  Here begins Jesus' final public sermon (which makes up nearly the whole of chapter 23).  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees.  There are several themes He involves.  My study Bible sums them up as follows:  First, the Jewish leaders have God-given authority and teach God's Law, but they are personally ungodly and cold-hearted.  So their teaching is to be honored, but they are not to be imitated.  Second, God is our true Father and Teacher.  A teacher or father on earth is one who leads people to God.  The scribes and Pharisees do the opposite, placing themselves in God's position.  These themes are covered in today's reading.  The rest of the chapter will cover an eightfold indictment of the scribes and Pharisees, in which Jesus charges that they invert God's values, they are mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and they are blindly self-righteous.  My study Bible adds that while these charges were directed against the Jewish leaders of Christ's day, every word applies to those in the Church who behave in the same ways.

 

 "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."  To sit in Moses' seat, my study Bible explains, means to hold the succession of office down from Moses himself.  In the synagogue, the teacher spoke while seated as a sign of this authority . My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary, in which he said that the scribes were depraved in thought and in heart, yet Jesus still upholds the dignity of their office, as they don't speak their own words, but God's.  So also within the Church, clergy are to be shown respect for they hold the apostolic office, although they are also sinners.  Moreover, the sins of the clergy do not relieve the people from their resonsibilities before God.  Let us note here the cold-heartedness Jesus describes of those who bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders -- and yet will do nothing to help in the slightest.   This is in distinct contradiction to Christ's teaching in yesterday's reading (above), in which He cited the second greatest commandment as that in which we're told to "love your neighbor as yourself."

 

"But all of 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.'"  Phylacteries are small leather pouches which contain passages of Scripture and are worn on the arm or forehead.  The concept is to keep God's Law always in mind (see Exodus 13:9).  But instead the Pharisees used them for a false show of piety, making them increasingly larger and more noticeable.  

 

 "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 teacher; 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." My study Bible says that Christ's warning against calling hypocrites father and teacher is not meant as an absolute prohibition against using these terms (as some teach).  These terms are applied to people many times in the New Testament, and all of these usages are inspired by God.  "Teacher" is used in John 3:10; Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; and 2 Timothy 1:11.  "Father" is used in Luke 16:24; 1 Corinthians 4:15; and Colossians 3:21.  From the earliest days of the Church, bishops and presbyters have been called "father" not in order to take the place of God, but rather for their fatherly care of their flocks:  they lead people to God, and exercise fatherly authority within the community. 

 

Jesus teaches in today's reading, "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."  This is one of several occasions in which we read similar statements or teachings in the Bible.  See also, for example, Luke 14:11, 18:14; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 18:4, 23:11. There are many other occasions of such sentiment found in the Bible but using different language.  But in this context, this statement is given regarding use of the terms "father" and "teacher."  Jesus' statement is telling the disciples (and their spiritual descendants), who would come to be both "teachers" and "fathers" in the Church that they are not to be like the hypocrites.  This statement by Jesus suggests to us that if any of us, or if anyone in the Church, wishes to be thought of as teacher or father (or perhaps mother as well), then the only way to do this is to be a servant to others and to humble oneself.  It is in this way that teachers and fathers come to be exalted in the Church.  Oftentimes, we call such people saints, both literally and figuratively.  To be both humble and to serve is a way to curb the tendency to hypocrisy, as such discipline is counter to the goal of doing good works for the express purpose of simply being seen by others.  Human nature such as it is makes it difficult to both be concerned with serving others and also to tamper our desire to be seen as doing good.  The real emphasis here is on one's chosen aim or profession.  Do we really desire to teach?  Do we truly deeply desire to care for others with a "fatherly" (or motherly) care?  Or is our highest priority to be praised by others and to judge ourselves only through their eyes, rather than the eyes of God?  Every parent likely knows the dilemma of being a good parent -- and so sometimes having to say "No," imposing rules, and delineating boundaries, and wanting a child's love without their disappointment or disapproval.  Ultimately -- again, as in the teaching of the two greatest commandments in yesterday's reading (above) -- our highest priority needs to be loving and pleasing God, for in this way we do seek to be true teachers and fathers (and good parents, for that matter).  For this is where we go to be dedicated to truly learning love and goodness, what really serves, and what truly teaches.  There our desire can be met with God's care for our goals, and for the disposition of our souls.  Hypocrisy, living as an actor behind a mask (a literal understanding of the word's Greek roots) prevents us from assuming the humility necessary for sincerity, for the pure heart Jesus desires for us (Matthew 5:8).  A good teacher, just like a good father or mother, has for their primary concern the welfare of those under their care, and their first priority is not their own gain, well-being, or capacity to impress and lord it over others.  We are blessed in the Church to have a long history of many teachers, and many fathers, notably among those whom we call saints, but a myriad more whom we don't know.  Ultimately, as Jesus indicates, we have one true Teacher (the Christ) and one true Father (He who is in heaven).  We might call Christ the Teacher of all teachers, and God the  Father is the Father of all fathers.  But through humility and love we can learn to grow in likeness to them.  Let us start with Christ's first and greatest commandment, the love of God, and how love of neighbor (the second great commandment) can be expressed through all the teachers, fathers, and mothers of the Church.  Let us strive to become like them. 

 

 

Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me

 

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

 

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

 

- Matthew 18:1-9 

 

Yesterday we read that while Jesus and the disciples were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.  When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus  anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

 

  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  Let us first consider that by now Christ has given the disciples two warnings of His Passion that is to come at Jerusalem (see yesterday's reading, above).  They have, as yet, no idea what it means that He will be "raised up."  Perhaps they think that the coming of the Kingdom is imminent, and they expect it to be a worldly kingdom, and so they ask about their positions.  My study Bible comments that this question a selfish interest in worldly power.  Christ points to a little child as the model of true discipleship, and emphasizes the virtues necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  My study Bible lists these as humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  In Orthodox iconography, St. Ignatius of Antioch is depicted as this child.  In certain legends of saints, he's the boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9).

 

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."  My study Bible explains that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.  

 

"Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."  Jesus' reference to mutilation is meant to illustrate the need for decisive action in order to avoid sin -- and of course does not advocate literal amputation.  (He uses a similar illustration in the Sermon on the Mount, at Matthew 5:29.)  This also refers, according to my study Bible, to harmful relationships that need to be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

 

 It should be quite obvious how serious Jesus is about the deadly nature of offenses in today's reading, given the descriptions here of both woe to the offender ("it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea"), and the drastic measures referred to here to keep from committing those offenses ("It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire").  Let us note that this conversation happens as Jesus has just given the second warning about what is to come in Jerusalem, and the disciples have begun asking questions about what positions of authority they will hold in His kingdom; that is, the earthly type kingdom they are expecting ("Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?")?  His first emphasis is on humility, a lesson to us all who seek to follow Him ("Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven").  So He first very explicitly uses a little child (perhaps St. Ignatius of Antioch) as an example to all the men of how they must approach the Kingdom.  Next, He reveals a stark warning against abuses of power; that is, offenses against the "little ones" ("Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!").  We must presume that because the disciples have just asked about positions of greatness in the Kingdom, this is Jesus' top priority -- that authority and rank in His Church not be used to abuse the little ones, the humble, including, of course, children.  If we think carefully about His words regarding mutilation to avoid sin which illustrates the dire importance of the problem, we may consider that He first mentions a hand or foot causing offense:  a hand may grasp what does not belong to it, it may reach out to take something, a foot can trespass over an important boundary and step where it doesn't belong.  An eye may gaze with lust or with envy or with greed to take something that doesn't belong to one.  These stand in for habits and offenses which will harm the powerless, the young, the small, and so Jesus here is speaking about the central importance of self-discipline, a willingness to change, and to discard habits that might be so ingrained -- or even feel so precious -- as to be a part of us like our eyes or limbs may be.  But it is up to us to learn the true discipline He desires if we are to follow Him.  This is, yet again, illustrative of another purpose for fasting, so that we learn self-mastery, a kind of ability not to indulge ourselves and not to be slaves of our passions, to say "No" to what we must reject even if it feels like an inalienable part of who we are.  We live in a world where so many of our desires may be instigated and catered to through modern telecommunications, instantaneous gratification being an objective "good" touted to us in popular culture.  But this is not the perspective of Jesus, and it is not truly the substance of what it takes to live good human lives, to build up our loves into something worthwhile and positive.  For that we need a discipline, we need to follow something or Someone who is going to take us to better lives and better communities, and that takes the discipline to say "No" to the things that tempt us with easy solutions to feel good, and not to do the work of self-discipline.  Let us reach toward Christ, to be the persons He calls us to be.  Let us cut off the habits and other things which cause harm, the easy indulgence, in exchange for the truly good:  for the humility to follow Him and learn as a child, and to enter into the kingdom of heaven, in order to assume whatever authority or grace He gives, and grow in His love and His teaching. Finally, let us recall His words: "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  What greater concept of grace and gracious behavior can we receive than this?  To receive even one little child in His name is to receive Christ Himself.  Jesus gives us the tools for building our lives and communities on His grace.  Let us endeavor to reach the standards He teaches us. 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 

 A bruised reed He will not break, 

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust." 

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

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

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.   That Jesus knew it is a reference to the final verse in yesterday's reading (above), in which we were told that the Pharisees have now begun to plot against Him, how they might destroy Him.   

 

Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out,  nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  St. Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4.  My comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah.  It states that the reasons for this secrecy include, first of all, the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders (as noted above regarding the plotting of the Pharisees against Him.  Additionally, there is the people's misunderstanding and widespread expectation of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord wishes to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  In this quotation from the Old Testament, we can read that the prophet Isaiah had foreseen the mission to the Gentiles after Pentecost ("in His name Gentiles will trust").  

 

 The prophet Isaiah writes, "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him . . .."  The beautiful poetry of this prophesy teaches us so much about Jesus.  The first word to describe Him here is Servant, teaching us all about Christ and His mission.  We know from His ministry that in all things He serves the Father, bowing His human will with His divine identity in obedience to the Father's will.  As His faithful, we also understand Him not simply as a Servant to God but also to all of humankind and to all of creation, for His mission and ministry in the world gave us Resurrection, and we know that He gave His human life "for the life of the world" (John 6:51).  His entire ministry, His teachings, His healings, His exorcism, His sharing His power with His own servants (see this reading) -- all testify to His life as a Servant of the world in every way, and He continues to serve us as Lord, in the mysteries of the Church and in all we depend upon as those who put our faith in Him.  Christ is called My Beloved, and we know He is the beloved Son.  If we look to the divine revelation, or theophany, manifest at Christ's Baptism, we see these words of Isaiah echoed in the voice of the Father:  "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).   These words of God the Father are repeated at the Transfiguration, also a theophany (Matthew 17:5).  Of course, we are all familiar with the Spirit "descending like a dove and alighting upon" Christ at His Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17).  That God declares through Isaiah, "I will put My Spirit upon Him" is a declaration of anointing.  It is a sign of Christ being at once our great High Priest and King (our King of kings and Lord of lords), and Messiah.  Isaiah foresaw these truths, and in Christ's life they are manifested, and they continue to manifest in the Church, as we each may be anointed with the Spirit of God to live our lives in imitation of Him, to be transformed into His image for us.  Let us consider how deep and how true this reality goes for us.  As we have recently read, and we read from this portion of Isaiah's prophesy, this great Savior is One who is also "meek and lowly of heart"; He does not need to prove who He is, but He lives who He is, and shows us by every manifestation this reality, even in His humility and courage and love for us.

 

 

 

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them

 

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

 

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

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

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

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may 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."  Christ's own country is Nazareth, the place where He was raised.  My study Bible comments that this double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  In Near and Middle Eastern usage, then and today, brother can be used as a term for any number of varied relations.  Jesus' brothers and sisters are either children by a previous marriage of St. Joseph, or other relatives such as cousins and extended family.  Mary had only one child, her Son, Jesus.  Christ's saying, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house," is so significant that it is found in all four Gospels (Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).

 

 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  While grace is always offered to all, it notes, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  Let us note here that in the Greek, the word translated here as mighty work is the same word translated as "power" in yesterday's reading, above.  In yesterday's reading, Christ's power went out of Him in response to the faith of the woman with the years-long bloodflow; here there is no faith to respond to.

 

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.   After choosing the twelve (in this reading), the time has come that He has prepared them to be sent out on their first apostolic mission (in the Greek, the word for apostle means "one sent out" while disciple means "learner").  Here, once again, we encounter the word power in English, but in the Greek of this particular verse, this word is more akin to "authority."  This kind of power that He has given them is a conference of strength that comes out of His substance, His identity as Lord.  So, in a sense, Christ has made them His ministers of a sort.  He has given them authority over the unclean spirits, to command them as He does.  My study Bible comments on anointing the sick with oil.  It notes that this not only has medicinal value but also sacramental value.  As God's healing power is bestowed through creation, it says (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15; 19:11-12), so oil is also a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).  

 

 Power plays a strong role yet again in today's reading.  We compare and contrast this with the role Christ's power played in yesterday's reading.  Yesterday, as noted above, we read that power went out from Jesus in response to the woman who touched His clothes from behind Him in a crowd.  But in today's reading, that holy power to do "mighty works" has no faith to which to respond in Christ's hometown of Nazareth.  The people there are too clouded by their own memories and assignments of identity to Christ in terms of His social position as One who grew up among them as one of them, and their perspectives on His own family and their place in the town.  Their sight is clouded by their own opinions, worldly experience and assumptions, and possibly prejudices.  They believe that they know what they know, and so they are both astonished and offended at Him.  But they cannot accept the Christ who now stands before them as He is revealed to be in His ministry.  So there is a lack of faith in Him.  But this shows us also how holy power works, for it often does so through the least likely and most unassuming in terms of our own expectations and worldly notions.  This is exemplified in God's words to St. Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).  This, too, is related to faith and prayer, for this was said to St. Paul after he had prayed three times for a certain affliction to be removed from him, and it was not.  Here is the paradoxical (to us) nature of holy power; in this case, God's strength would be perfected in the affliction itself, in the "weak" vessel of St. Paul, conveyed to the world even through that weakness and, according to human judgment, imperfection.  Yet there was no greater advocate for Christ than St. Paul in terms of his ministry's impact upon the founding of the Church, and so God's strength was made perfect.  This is one of the great paradoxes of our faith, the transcendent usurping power of God through all things, turning all things to the power to serve holiness and beauty.  If Christ is perhaps the "least likely" according to the judgment of His fellow townspeople of Nazareth, so we get a taste of how God works in the world.  For, as my study Bible notes above, so it would be at His Crucifixion.  The apostles themselves are sent out with authority -- Christ's authority which He has chosen to confer upon them.  They are hardly images of human perfection or even at this stage the disciples they would grow to be, yet Christ invest His power in them and places His own faith in them as carriers of His message and ministry, as ambassadors of the His Kingdom.  When the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint a new king of Israel, David seemed the least likely of all the possibilities.  But Samuel was told by the Lord of the one who seemed to look the part of a king, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (see the story at 1 Samuel 16:1-13).  So it is that Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, with instructions which in all ways proclaim that they are humble, yet they are invested with the authority conferred by God over the unclean spirits.  Their weapon is the gospel; their rebuke to shake the dust off their feet where they will not be heard.  St. Paul writes, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).  Grace and power, and even authority, work through those whom God chooses, through things we least expect, through all things regardless of the views of the worldly-wise.  For this is how our faith works, and as it is yet still working.  

 

 

 

 

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

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and 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.

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

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

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.   My study Bible comments that this double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ (see also Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus' brothers and sister are either children of Joseph, Christ's earthly guardian, from an earlier marriage, or they are cousins (the term "brother" is still used across the Middle East today to indicate extended family).  In Scripture, Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9). 

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house."  So important is this saying that it appears in all four Gospels.  See also Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44.

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.  My study Bible explains that Jesus could do no mighty works there, not because He lacked the power to do so, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  It notes that while grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  Here the twelve disciples also become apostles.  Disciple means "learner" and apostle means "one sent out" (as on a mission).  Thus these terms are often used interchangeably for these twelve.  Note how He commands them to go out with an attitude of humility, and they are not sent out as by an emperor or general.  They are to take nothing for the journey except a staff to walk with.  No bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts means that they are dependent upon God and upon their welcome wherever they go.  That they wear sandals and only one tunic gives a poor and humble demeanor by their dress.  They are not to "trade up" for better lodgings once they are welcome in a house in the place they preach.  The testimony of shaking off the dust under their feet where they are not welcome will have powerful effects on the day of judgment.  This shows that the word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and of Christ is with them and working through them in their mission. 

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

We note above the very careful instructions given by Christ for the practice of humility in teaching the disciples how they are to engage in their first apostolic mission.  Before He sends them out, He gives even specifics of what they are to wear, what to take and not to take with them, and how they are to conduct themselves as they go preaching from place to place.  All of these instructions point to humility as the way in which they are to practice their preaching, casting out of demons, and healing  on this first mission.  This aspect or attitude of humility is key to an understanding of how God's kingdom works in this world.  For Christ repeatedly emphasizes that the power that works in Him and through God's kingdom is not like worldly power.  It is not ostentatious and it is not manipulative.  Faith, as we observe in every reading, is not something that God compels in us by force, but wants from us voluntarily.  Repeatedly Jesus will explain to the disciples how they are to conduct themselves as future leaders in His Church.  They are to be servants, and not "lord it over" others as they see the Gentiles do (Mark 10:42-45).  He direly warns them of the consequences of committing any offense against the "little ones" in His Church, especially anything that would drive them away from Him (Mark 9:42).  When James and John Zebedee ask if He wanted them to call down fire upon a village of Samaritans who refuse to receive Him, Jesus tells them, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them" (see Luke 9:51-56).  Even when Christ sends out the Seventy on their own apostolic mission, He gives similar instructions to the ones we read in today's reading, but Luke's reporting includes Christ's admonition to "greet no one along the road," meaning not to give nor receive ostentatious greetings as those who represent a kingdom or ruler or person of importance would do (see Luke 10:1-12).  This attitude of humility, which so permeates our Scriptures and the specific teachings of Christ, reminds us Whose Kingdom we are of.  That is, it is emblematic of the God who is loving and merciful, who invites and calls but does not compel.  It is our Lord who heals and who forgives and asks only repentance so that we might realize that forgiveness.  Most of all, it teaches us in so many ways about the love of God for us, which is infinite, for God is love, as the Scriptures teach (1 John 4:8).  Moreover, in the long tradition of monastic life, and the practice of the cultivation of virtue in Christian teaching, we know that humility is the key to all the other virtues, and so is also in that sense, a hallmark of our faith.  First and foremost, that attitude of humility is before God, who then teaches us in turn how to be loving in community with others.  Let us meditate on this, and how the humble attitude which Christ teaches these first apostles significantly "announces" their approach, and who they are, and Whom they represent.  Moreover it teaches to others of the One whose power is shared with them to cast out demons and to heal.  That is, the One who says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).  Let us learn from Him, and from them.  For humility will also serve us well in so many aspects of life, if we but know what that truly is and what and whom it is for.  Without it, their testimony would not have the power Christ claims and shares with them. 

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 

 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

- Luke 18:9–14 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:  "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard men, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

 

  Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: . . . We don't know precisely to whom this parable was directed, although of course it has applications to all of us.  But perhaps the behavior exemplified by the Pharisee in the parable is comparable to those who complained against Jesus because He received and ate with tax collectors and sinners (see this reading).

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector."  My study Bible explains that the Pharisee is highly respected and a careful observer of the details of the Law, while the tax collector is despised as a sinner who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces, who betrays and cheats his own people.  

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'"  These practices of the Pharisee are worthy examples to follow, my study Bible points out.  His good deeds (such as fasting and giving tithes) are the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (that lead to adultery and extortion).  But, my study Bible adds, without a humble and repentance heart, such outward practices are worthless, and lead simply to pride and judgment of others.  It's important to read closely the language used here, that the Pharisee prays with himself.  My study Bible comments that God is absent where there is boasting.

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "  This tax collector shows by his posture that he's aware of the state of his soul.  He stands far from the altar of sacrifice, and his eyes are cast downward.  His prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus Prayer.  The refrain "Lord have mercy" permeates worship and personal prayer, my study Bible reminds us.  

"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  To be justified means to be forgiven and set right with God, my study Bible explains.  It says that inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned. 

 In modern popular language in the West, we hear a lot about the "ego."  This has become synonymous with grandiosity, or flattering portrayals of ourselves, and is often chastised as being mistaken.  Christ's parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector roots us in the reality of this observed behavior, and defines for our consciousness an awareness of the pitfalls of self-exaltation.  As the Gospel frames it, Jesus delivers this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.  What follows in the parable is the expression of this Pharisee essentially flattering himself in his own eyes, although he appears to be addressing God at the altar.  To use another term often heard today in popular culture, this sense of admiring his own reflection is a pattern of narcissism, named from the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus, who drowned as he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.  But Jesus gives us a better picture of the root of the type of mistake in his thinking and practice this Pharisee makes, when He gives us the terms of the Pharisee's prayer.  As my study Bible points out, Jesus phrases this parable specifically in language that declares that this man prayed, not with God, but with himself.  He is so busy admiring himself and painting this self-flattering image that there is no room for God; he's playing to his own image.  Moreover, it is this flaw that leads the Pharisee to condemnation of others, in that he then turns to the image of the tax collector to further boost his own image of himself.  These are patterns given to us in this very simple parable by Jesus that teach us the roots of a disordered type of behavior, one that causes misery both to ourselves and others.  First of all, Jesus makes it clear that the true saving relationship is that between ourselves and God.  We need to be dependent upon God for our measurement of ourselves and our yardstick.  God is the ultimate reality upon which we can base our sense of ourselves without distortion:  it is in that relationship that we may discover where we are sinful, and where we are loved.  What stands in God's sight remains as good and true, what does not must be discarded.  No one loves and knows us as God does, and there is no other who can teach us who we need to be.  To use terms from the myth of Narcissus, but which are most significant in Christianity, it is only Christ who can give us the true image -- or icon, in theological language -- of who we are and must aspire to become.  Looking at others and comparing, or simply looking at our own image we create, distort the picture of truth.  An inverse sort of narcissism is also possible, wherein for our own harmful emotional reasons, we paint an overly negative picture of ourselves that is nevertheless equally self-centered in its focus.  A toxic guilt is just the flip side of the same coin.  But let us look at the tax collector, who prays with God for help and mercy.  This is not a practice of morbid self-guilt, but one of honesty that leads to hope.  He is accepting the reality of his life, and so much more.  He is putting his trust in God for God's everlasting mercy and love.  Even though he knows he is a sinner, he nonetheless is going to God in trust and seeking to establish himself more deeply in God's love.  It is for this reason that he is justified.  As human beings, we're none of us so perfect we haven't got more in front of us God wants us to learn, to correct, adapt, and to grow toward the image God has of us.  Let us find that way to deepen our reliance on God, seeking God's way for ourselves for what we need to discard, and relying on and trusting in God's love and mercy to take us forward.  For this is the only way to well-being.  Jesus says that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  This Pharisee who exalts himself will be humbled at the judgment of Christ, while the tax collector who humbles himself before God will be exalted.  Let us follow and do likewise, fully relying on God's love and mercy to show us what we truly need for our lives.

 

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 

 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

- Luke 14:1–11 

 

Yesterday we read that some Pharisees came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. 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 brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  Here Jesus once again builds on His words from earlier in the chapter, when He spoke to the ruler of the synagogue, who objected to His healing of a woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years (see this reading from Wednesday).  Here He eats with scribes and Pharisees, in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  They watched Him closely to catch Him so they might accuse Him (Luke 6:7).  Jesus is, of course, aware of this, so we know that all of His actions and words are chosen deliberately to teach.  This is the second time He mentions the efforts to save the life of an animal on the Sabbath, comparing it to their attitude toward healing human beings on the Sabbath.  We note that the animals are useful work animals, needed for commerce or produce or transport.

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  This parable is directed toward guests (and will be followed in Monday's reading with one directed to hosts).  In imitation of Christ, my study Bible comments, perfect humility is expected of guests -- and we will see that boundless charity is demanded of hosts (see James 4:6).

Jesus teaches a lesson about humility in today's reading, as He addresses guests in His parable.  But clearly, Jesus does not simply speak to those at this particular table, nor is He simply teaching us about good manners.  (Although, frankly, this is a good teaching on being a guest and how humility is the basis for what has come to be understood as good manners.)   In the tradition of the Church -- especially the monastic tradition -- humility has come to be understood as the foundation for all the rest of the virtues, and the gateway to the rest of them.  For without humility, we first of all cannot honor God as properly we should be doing.  How does one honor God if we cannot put consideration of self second, and God first?  How do we learn and grow without humility?  For if we put ourselves as front and center of what we know, we are not going to be open enough to reconsider our opinions or be willing to allow a little light to change our minds, or to reveal new things we don't already know.  Moreover, one has to consider the primary importance of repentance to Christ's preaching and the message of the Kingdom, even from the prophets who came before, and John the Baptist who prepared the way in Christ's lifetime (Matthew 3:1-2).  To repent is to turn around, to change one's mind, to go from one road to another.  Repentance is not possible without some degree of humility, putting our own opinion second to something better.  So, Christ's words here in this parable teach us about God's response to our humility.  To be offered the more generous place at the table, to go up higher in the sense of glory as Christ uses that word here ("Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you"), is to be recognized in terms of our capacity for that honor.  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44).  In this sense, Jesus gives us this teaching:  "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  We will not find the honor that comes from the only God without first having the humility to seek it, and to put God first, before our own limited understanding of what is great, and good, and true.  Christ cannot say to us, "Friend, go up higher" unless we first are capable of advancing into the reality that He offers, the truths of the gospel He teaches, the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:10).  It's also clear that there's another layer to the parable, and that's as it's directly told to these Pharisees and scribes (lawyers) who join Him at table at the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  All of these are the elite and educated of their time, the ones who are experts in the Law and the faith, who would spend all their time debating Scripture and the commands found therein.  So, their understanding of what is lawful and what is not is something they put great store in, so secure are they in their zealotry.  But Jesus' parable is a reminder that they shouldn't be so secure in what they absolutely think they know, and it's also a hint that they don't really know the Person they sit at table with.  They have no idea that He is Lord, and will be their Judge.  Humility, then, is their only key to hope, to be able to see what they don't know, and to learn what they need to learn, to find the only One who can tell them, "Friend, go up higher."  Then they will quite literally "have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you."  As they are in their worldly roles, they consider themselves to be the exalted ones, even as Christ is warning them, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me

 

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on the and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on the and departed from there.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

- Matthew 19:13-22 

 

On Saturday we read that it came to pass, when Jesus had finished His sayings on mutual correction and forgiveness in the Church, 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 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."

 

  Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on the and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on the and departed from there.  My study Bible comments that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and also because they thought that, according to Theophylact, children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  Jesus rejects such thinking, and sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  (See also the readings from Wednesday and Thursday of last week regarding "little ones.")  Therefore, my study Bible notes, children are invited -- even as an example to adults -- to participation in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."   My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from one whom he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's response is not to deny that He is God, but designed to lead this rich man to this knowledge.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  My study Bible notes here that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but sensed that he still lacked something.  So, therefore, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.

 

 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  In order to be perfect, my study Bible notes, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained except this sacrifice is freely given.  The specifics of how one will follow Christ, however, will be different for every person.  In this case, wealth had such a grip on this rich young man that his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  According to St. John Chrysostom, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  

In tomorrow's reading, we will receive Christ's response and teaching to the disciples regarding this episode of the rich young ruler who seeks eternal life.  In it we will read Jesus' rather astonishing response regarding the pull of wealth, which will astound the disciples.  But for now, let us focus on this young man who comes to Christ with what seems a very earnest seeking for eternal life.  Although the young man does not understand that Christ is divine, he calls Him a good Teacher, which expresses sincerity.  But the great stumbling block here is his possessions, which are great in the description of the Gospel.  Although it is possible to read this passage as if Jesus' pronouncement that the young man must sell all his possessions and give to the poor is something standard and almost flippant, it is really nothing of the kind, as my study Bible and patristic commentary notes.  In Mark's Gospel, we're told that Jesus, "looking at him, loved him," before giving this teaching (see Mark 10:21).  Therefore this teaching to the young man is given by Jesus with love, and what we can understand as the deepest insight for him.  So the emphasis falls here on the type of hold that wealth can have on us, and also that in this case it forms a stumbling block to the young man's salvation, his hope of eternal life for which he asks.  Let us begin by noting that once again Jesus speaks of an exchange here.  He counsels this young man to sell what he has and give to the poor so that he will, instead, have treasure in heaven.  This is an important sense of exchange for each of us in our lives, for it is what taking up our own crosses means.  We make a sacrifice of the things that stand in the way of our own salvation, and in so doing receive the things of the Kingdom, treasure in heaven.  In this case, as my study Bible explains, wealth has such a grip on this person that it will form a stumbling block, and indeed it does, as this young man goes away sorrowful at Christ's teaching, unable to accept it.  We can surmise perhaps that, as we know he is young, his possessions are a hint that he comes from one of the wealthier landowning families, and therefore is connected through family position within the temple and the society.  Therefore his identity is at any rate -- as we can see from his response -- bound up with his wealth.  He considers it too far of a sacrifice for him, even for eternal life.  Possibly Jesus gives him this counsel because in the Church, there will eventually come a time when all of Christ's followers will be persecuted by the religious leadership, and they will necessarily need to make this kind of hard choice to remain in the faith, and part from what they know.  For even the nation, in this sense, will reject Christ at His trial before Pilate.  These are -- or rather they may be for each of us -- the kinds of hard choices that appear for us in following our faith, and therefore taking up our own crosses in order to follow Christ.  These are the sacrifices that come up in a life of faith, where whatever we are asked to sacrifice acts as an attachment and stumbling block to following in faith.  As my study Bible indicates, these things will be different for every person, and can involve just about anything.  But the key, as with this rich young man, is our attachment to them in opposition to the way Christ would ask us to go forward in life toward a deeper communion with Him and the life He offers and asks of us.  In the Bible, we can read of the sacrifices the disciples will undergo themselves as they become apostles and pillars of the Church, having to choose between the deepest ties of earthly life and where they will go as Christ's servants.  Jesus asks of us personal sacrifices in terms of our own habits and proclivities to selfishness as well (see this reading, in which Christ uses the example of amputation necessary to save the whole body).  For these are the ways in which we are transfigured in the image He offers us, to the person He calls us to become more truly as our Lord.  Let us consider how the sacrifices we might be called upon to make draw us more closely to Him and to the life He offers, to treasure in heaven, to more closely following Him.   Note that the young man has already made a great discipline in his life of following the commandments, and this one given by Christ is that which is given if he desires to be perfect.  Perhaps it is an example to us of Christ's teaching, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48).  But then again, Christ has asked the disciples, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"    Today's reading suggests that we must each ask ourselves this same question.

 

Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

 

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire." 

 

- Matthew 18:1-9 

 

Yesterday we read that while Jesus and the disciples were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.  When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"   Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

 

  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  My study Bible comments that this question, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" is an indication of a selfish interest in worldly power.  Jesus points to a little child as the model of true discipleship, and in so doing emphasizes the virtues which are required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  These virtues are named by my study Bible as humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  In Orthodox iconography, it says, St. Ignatius of Antioch is shown as this child.  In certain legends of saints, he is the boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9).  

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."  Little ones, my study Bible says, include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.   

 

"Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."  See also Matthew 5:29.   Jesus is referring to a type of emergency operation, in which a diseased body part must be removed in order to save the body from spreading infection or disease.  He is using such as an illustration of decisive action to avoid sin, and how dangerous sin -- that which causes offenses -- is to the soul.  My study Bible adds that this also applies to harmful relationships which must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

What are offenses, and what does Jesus mean by this?  Let us begin with the question asked by the disciples:  "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  My study Bible calls it a selfish interest in worldly power.  If we compare the kingdoms of the world (or even the states of today), we understand the pursuit of power -- and therefore position -- to be the primary aims of those involved, the "great ones" or "greatest" who rule.  But greatness for Jesus Christ has another definition, which has hopefully touched our world to some extent, and given us concepts of rule that involve more than simply conquering and exploiting.  Perhaps the disciples understand that the Kingdom to come will be like a worldly kingdom; perhaps they misunderstand what it means that Christ will be raised at the third day following His Passion.  This would coincide with the popular expectations of the Messiah.  But Jesus must make them understand what kind of Kingdom they must serve and how they must serve it.  Most importantly, He gives us the concept of greatness.  But in so doing, He begins, importantly, with what they must do and not do as those who wish to be great.  They must first be "converted and become as little children," for without this there is no entry into this kingdom of heaven!  "Therefore," Jesus says, "whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."   This is an upside down image of the kind of worldly power the disciples know from the empires and kingdoms around them.  How can being humble as a little child make one the greatest?  Then Jesus leads them into an understanding of His version of leadership.  Jesus' first and highest priority is the little ones who in faith will come to them in His Church:  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!"  Exploitation, false teaching, leading the little ones astray, offenses that cause them to be lost, will meet with the severest punishment.  Jesus proclaims woe to those who cause such offense.  This is an image of leadership in stark contrast to figures we can read about in the Gospels, like Herod Antipas or his father Herod the Great.  And then comes what is perhaps the most powerful teaching of all:  "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."  Jesus is using the image of a body part that needs amputation to illustrate the power of our habits which cause offense, harm, abuse to others; and in this case it is in the context of using power over those who are "little ones" in our world.  That is, those who come in humility and faith -- trust -- into the Church and under their care.  A hand or foot can strike one less powerful, either one can stray where it's not wanted, cross boundaries that shouldn't be crossed, reach out to take or steal what doesn't belong to it.  An eye can gaze with envy, with covetousness, with hatred and rage, with the desire to control or to exploit.  What Jesus is speaking about is the internal life of a person, and how essential it is that we know ourselves, our flaws, and be willing to take decisive action to cut from ourselves the habits and impulses that lead to the offenses He condemns.  And this then becomes the definition of leadership -- the capacity to sacrifice the things we might even hold dear, the habits of a lifetime that are  hard to break, and cast them from ourselves in order to make greatness meaningful in terms of serving God.  This in turn is discipleship.  That is, it is the discipline which He asks of His disciples, and in turn of us.  What we should note at this stage is that Jesus is ultimately most concerned with the "little ones" who will be in the care of these future apostles and bishops of the Church.  He is teaching them how greatness is connected to the qualities of God which are most highly associated with grace and mercy, the extension of care and compassion.  In terms of the ways that power -- especially state power -- worked in Jesus' time, this is a powerful antidote to its frequent and even normative abuses.  Caesar's "greatness" was concerned with how many he had conquered, even killed in battle.  Christ offers a different greatness, and one which would come to revolutionize the world, bringing institutions of care and compassion such as hospitals and charitable behavior into social life.  But for now, let us pay close attention to Christ's most powerful admonitions which come in the form of prophesying "woe" for those by whom abuses to the little ones in the Church come.  It is a word we need to pay attention to today, and His teaching about a willingness to sacrifice our own impulses to abusive or manipulative power remains equally necessary as it was then, a reminder about what makes us human beings of truly "great" stature.  In a highly consumerist-oriented society of the modern developed world, we might be easily misled to think that some sort of greatness is measured by how far we can indulge our own desires.  But this is not the greatness described by Jesus.  On the contrary, Christ's greatness depends upon our own discipline and is clearly measured by an internal yardstick of self-mastery in service to something much higher than ourselves.   True greatness in this Kingdom is not measured by our own yardstick but rather taken in the measure that Christ gives us.  Let us endeavor through our lives to take His measure for ourselves, and seek the greatness He gives us.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).   But this word "meek" has taken on characteristics in modern language that mislead our understanding of Christ's greatness, for Jesus' meekness and gentleness is strength under control, in discipleship and obedience to God, and seeking God's way for ourselves.  Let us more fully seek to embody the kind of strength He gives us through faith.