This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you

 

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.  But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

- Luke 22:14-30 

 

Yesterday we read that the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, 'Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  My study Bible tells us that Christ has a fervent desire for this Passover because this meal will impart the mysteries of the new covenant to His followers.  Moreover, this event will inaugurate the great deliverance of humanity from sin through the power of the Cross.  

 

 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." This first cup is a conclusion to the Old Testament Passover meal which Christ eats with His disciples in order to fulfill the Law.  Until the kingdom of God comes is explained by my study Bible to mean until Christ's Resurrection; at that time He will again eat and drink with His disciples (Luke 24:43; Acts 10:41).  

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."   In the language of the text, gave thanks has as its root the Greek word eucharist (ευχαριστία), which my study Bible says immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and the sacrament of Holy Communion.  Before the end of the first century, a teaching manuscript called the Didache refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist."  In the year AD 150, St. Justin said of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body . . .."  My study Bible comments that the Orthodox Church has always accepted Christ's words as true, "that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (St. Justin).  See John 6:51-56, 1 Corinthians 11:23-32.

 

"But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study Bible asks us to note that Judas is also invited to this table for the mystical supper, as Jesus is seeking by all means to save him.  Judas' unworthy participation leads to his utter destruction (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; compare to Esther 7).  Note the tie between Christ's words regarding "the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" and the betrayal in the spilling of His blood.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study Bible comments that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries which Christ has just revealed.  It notes that He corrects the disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.

 

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study Bible quotes the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan on this passage:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  My study Bible comments that the apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  Since God's kingdom begins with Resurrection of Christ, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  

 

 In this initiation of the Eucharist in Luke's Gospel, we read:  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."   Let us begin to consider what this means, that Christ repeats twice this notion of a voluntary sacrifice:   My body which is given for you; My blood, which is shed for you.  In reading about the notion of sacrifice in the ancient world, we discover that sacrifice did not have the kind of connotation that it has for us today.  A sacrifice was a meal which was shared, it created community through that sharing.  Part of the sacrifice, in the Jewish tradition, was burned, and this was the part "for God" at that communal table.  But the point was the sharing, the institution of community, and especially through communal meal.  To share or give a gift for another is also a way of creating community, relatedness in a particular way.  Christ effectively gives Himself -- His Body and Blood -- as a sacrifice once and for all, in order to create community with us.  This is made explicitly clear in His words that His body is given for us, and His blood is given for us (for you is plural).  We become this community through the affirmation of the New Covenant in His blood, again through sacrifice creating a bond.  We are to continue to participate in this sharing, this creation of community (His kingdom) in remembrance of Him, affirming that community and that bond and our participation in His sacrifice.  This community which bears His name, created and affirmed through His sacrifice in which we continually participate, has hallmarks to it that make it distinct from other kingdoms of the world (and indeed, the rule of other kings).  Jesus says, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  Our ongoing participation in His sacrifice commits us to the conditions of this community and its way of life that is to be different from the world; it is marked by service, another emphasis on giving, of which His sacrifice for us is our great example.  Service also is in keeping with voluntary sacrifice and giving, not as payment nor penalty, but as a gift to create, nurture, build, and extend community.  This is the Kingdom we inherit and in which we participate as adopted sons and heirs.  Its great bedrock is love, for God is love (1 John 4:8).  This is how Jesus characterizes His sacrifice Himself, for He tells us, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (1 John 15:13).  When we partake of the Eucharist, let us remember its significance as Christ's sacrifice for us, making community, teaching us to participate in it, and laying the foundation of love for His Kingdom in which we are invited to share and to become more "like" Him.  He taught us that "a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master" (Matthew 10:24).  A gift, a sacrifice, a service is an act of love meant to create and harbor community, relationships.  Let us think about how and why we, too, will make that investment in our faith, following Him, with careful consideration for where we cast our pearls in so doing.  For betrayal of such sacrifice, even if prophesied, is not without its penalty as well.

 

 

 

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

 

 Now while they 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."

 

- Matthew 17:22-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the three disciples, James, John, and Peter had come down from the Mount of the Transfiguration to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

 

  Now while they 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.  This is the second time that Jesus predicts His death and Resurrection (see also this reading for the first, which immediately followed Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God).   My study Bible comments that this is done to show the disciples that He is going to His Passion freely, and not being taken against His will. 

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."  My study Bible explains that the temple tax was an annual head tax on all male Jews (with the exception of priests) over twelve years old, for the maintenance of the temple (see Numbers 3:43-51).  As Jesus is the Son of God, it says, He is both High Priest and also "proprietor" of the temple, and therefore is exempt from the temple tax.  But He pays it anyway, both to avoid unnecessary offense, and also to show that He has totally identified Himself with mankind.

I'm quite intrigued about the story of the temple tax.  Yes, there is a seemingly "magical" element to it, if that is even an appropriate term.  Let us call it mystical, and an aspect of Christ's dominion over all things that there is a coin in the mouth of the first fish Peter the fisherman can catch, and Christ means it to be paid for the temple tax.  Let us go to the question, instead, of the approach of those whose job it is to collect the tax.  It seems to me that the question, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" is designed to embarrass Peter, and to cause him shame over Jesus.  Let us bear in mind that this is his community, and so shame becomes a particularly important element of the story.  Of course, shame and scandal will become a key component of the Passion.  We often forget when discussing Christ's Crucifixion that this singular event affects all of us, everybody.  It is not Christ alone who is involved, but all who witness, then and now -- both for those who reject Jesus and the Gospel, and for those who are the followers of Christ.  Let us imagine the impact of the Passion on His immediate followers, such as Peter and the rest of the disciples.  Of course, we know Peter's denial of Christ on the night Jesus was arrested, and his subsequent return to Christ and to the other disciples.  So this particular stumbling block of shame, with observation, does become something of an important thread in the story of Peter as a disciple to Christ.  Here, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that "the sons are free."  But nevertheless, Jesus divinely gifts Peter with the money for the temple tax from the coin in the mouth of the fish, "lest we offend them."  This seems at once to be a concession to avoid an unnecessary conflict, and also an act of compassion for Peter within his community.  There will be time soon enough when Peter's own concern for what might be scandalous will test him (see Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75).  It seems this same sort of test among community will be referred to again when St. Paul raises the issue in Galatians 2 and 3 regarding Peter's conduct within the early Christian community of both Gentiles and Jews.  There, St. Paul also raises this question to Peter in light of Christ's crucifixion, saying to him, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:20-21).  For if we are truly crucified with Christ, if we also participate in His Passion, then there will be questions that arise in our lives also where we might "bear a little shame" (to use the words of Fr. Stephen Freeman, who frequently writes about this topic on his blog, Glory to God for All Things), for the sake of the place to which Christ calls us, even in the face of our own communities.  Are we called to befriend the stranger whom others shun?  Can we really befriend the person singled out as scapegoat or for bullying?  These questions will come up again and again in whatever nominal "group" we're a part of, from the intimacy of family to large groups of Church and wider community of all kinds.  Here, Christ seems to wish to avoid a conflict for Peter and within a community in which His ministry has a kind of headquarters, and one which is not a part of the necessary clash to come with the religious leaders in Jerusalem.  But He takes care to teach Peter in private, and make His point clear nonetheless, affirming His divinity in the process.  As Fr. Freeman points out about this passage, Christ seems to "cover" Peter's shame with the miraculous coin.  After all, Peter has already answered the men from the temple in the affirmative, having taken upon himself to speak for Christ as one of His followers when he answers "Yes" to their question.  In so many ways, Christ seems to teach us both discernment and compassion, when it is time to bear shame or scandal for His sake, and when it is not.  In today's reading, it is He who graciously condescends to us, as one of us, for Peter and for the community.  In all ways, it is His personal love and compassion from which we truly learn, and let us again bear this in mind as we approach the season of His Nativity.

 

 

 

 

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

- Luke 10:17-24

Yesterday we read that after beginning His journey toward Jerusalem, the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.  Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."  Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  My study bible says that Jesus' statement, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, describes an event that took place before the creation of the world.  It notes that five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Taken in its entirety, Jesus' statement is a response to report of His power and authority at work through the seventy apostles.  Serpents and scorpions are representations of demons and devils.  Nevertheless, the seventy -- and we -- are to rejoice rather because our names are written in heaven.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."  My study bible says that babes are people of simple faith and open hearts (see 18:15-17).  Jesus rejoices over the outworking of faith through His ministry, the fruits of faith in His disciples, and especially the presence of the Kingdom at work through them to whom God has revealed it.

Many people seek for power and for signs of the presence of the Kingdom at work.  But Jesus tells us that we should rather rejoice in that our names are written in heaven.  This is a powerful call to faith.  The Gospels are filled with signs and wonders of the presence and power of the Kingdom, as is all of Scripture.  But what about in our own lives?  What should we look for?  Perhaps the most important characteristic of Christ's ministry, especially in Luke, is healing.  What does healing mean?  And what does it look like when we are healed?  Quite often, healing is something we know from the inside, but people cannot necessarily tell from the outside, except perhaps those of great spiritual and psychological discernment.  Healing may come in the form of God's love which empowers us to overcome hidden wounds, personal difficulties with addictive behaviors or reliance upon abusive relationships, or destructive patterns of our own habit and thinking.  God's work in us may be to turn us around, to create true repentance from bad or destructive behaviors, to release from forms of selfishness we thought we needed to rely upon for substance in the world.  Our faith may give us the strength to say No to what we need to renounce, and Yes to what we need to embrace.  We simply cannot predict the type of healing God's work in us offers, but these things don't necessarily present themselves to us or to the world as spectacular signs such as those we read about in the Gospels.  And yet, it is the power of Christ against "the enemy" that we don't realize is at work in us to produce such healing results.  This does not mean that we attribute all bad behaviors and choices to the direct work of demons and devils, but it does mean that we recognize that at the root of much selfish and destructive behaviors of all kinds is the "enemy of God," the "evil one."  There is an influence in our world that comes from spiritual origin which the Gospels also testify to, which gives birth to all kinds of ways of thinking and being -- destructive and misleading patterns of thought,  such as, for instance, toxic forms of shame or blame, as the case may be.  Even our own denial of a problem is a kind of lie that may work destructively, and which we need to face.  In the Gospels, the patterns of demons at work in a person are always destructive, and particularly self-destructive.  The patterns and influence of various ways of thinking which are quite commonplace among us can also work within us in the same way, and we should understand these also as forms of evil which harm both individuals and communities.  They form the root of what the tradition of Eastern monasticism calls "logismoi," the things for which we rely on our faith to help us with a constant kind of repentance or "change of mind" so that we are healed.  Spectacular signs and proofs of the presence of God's kingdom need not come in the forms we see in films (such as The Exorcist) or the signs of Christ's miracles.  But our own signs and miracles may happen to help create change in us, to overcome the flaws of our own lives and upbringing, the hardships that may befall us at any time.  There are thousands of thousands of ways in which the Kingdom may be influencing our own lives, even as science may measure and validate the power of love and prayer on health and healing.  Let us consider more deeply the ways in which our faith instructs us through the power of God's love, and in particular the ways in which we heal.  And let us, indeed, rejoice because our names are written in heaven, even when it is only we who know and understand the impact of our faith and the reality of that journey.

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

- Luke 10:17-24

Yesterday we read that as Jesus had set Himself to go to Jerusalem, He appointed seventy other apostles also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.  Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."   My study bible says that "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" describes an event that took place before the creation of the world.  Five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Christ shares His power with the Seventy, as He did previously with the Twelve, so that even the demons are subject to human beings in His name.  Serpents and scorpions are symbols of demons and devils.  This is about spiritual battle, not a worldly one.  But the greater rejoicing, He reminds us, is not over such power but rather to be members of the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever power the Church may have over demons, human beings always have free will.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."  Christ rejoices in prayer over the revelation of His ministry.   Babes, says my study bible, are people of simple and open hearts (see 18:15-17).  These seventy, like the twelve before them, are not men of extraordinary learning or social stature; in this sense they are like babes.  Jesus contrasts them with the wise and prudent.  What it reveals is the power that rests solely in the Son, for even many prophets and kings have desired to know what these babes know, to see and hear the things they have seen and heard, and it remained hidden from them.  This is clearly the remarkable intention of God the Father at work through Christ's ministry to the world, another sign of gracious condescension and love.

Jesus' ministry has power, as expressed in the joy of the Seventy that "even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  But perhaps in today's reading in particular, what is revealed is that this power is unlike earthly power.  A spiritual battle, as stated before, isn't an earthly battle.  There aren't great weapons that wipe out material civilizations and humankind.  This is a battle from the heart, and in the hearts and minds of people who choose their faith and the journey of their faith in the world.  These disciples have followed Christ, and He shares His power with them.  They have found that in His name, even the demons are subject to them.  We can't always know or tell demonic influence; it's something that is most likely subtle rather than something out of a horror show or frightening film dreamed up for the camera.  Popular culture won't really give us a good idea of what our faith is about.  Exorcism wasn't something strange or unknown in Jewish religious tradition.  (When Christ is accused by Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of demons, He responds by asking them, "By whom then do your sons cast them out?" in Matthew 12:27).   But what is truly remarkable and wonderful is that through Christ, God has given such power to babes -- and more than that, greater than that, is that such babes hear and see the work and the truth of the Kingdom, mysteries are revealed to them, and their names are written in heaven.  This is the gracious God that hid such things from the wise and prudent, even from prophets and kings who highly desired them, and shares them with those of true hearts and good faith.  There's really more to this than we've discussed, because all of it touches on the great transforming -- transfiguring -- power of Christ.  It is, as Christ's words of gratitude to the Father tell us, a product of the grace of God at work through this ministry, through Christ, and in these men and women of faith who are His followers.  The truth of God's grace and condescension is that human beings -- even babes -- are those who will share this kingdom and whose names are written in heaven.  This is the gracious power of God, the power that doesn't work as worldly power does, that will transform unlearned, even socially and politically naive men into those who will change the world with the Gospel message.  That is what we see at work in the saints, in the love of God, in our faith.  It remains at work, but it is still with us and within us to follow and keep His word in faith.  It is God's love that is the real power, and that we share in.   This is the bond that defeats the enemy.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were great displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

- Matthew 20:17-28

In yesterday's reading, Jesus told a parable about all those who work for the Kingdom, from all time, first to last and last to first: 
 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."   This is the third time Jesus has warned His disciples of what is to come in Jerusalem  After the second prophecy (which we read on Wednesday, last week) the questions the disciples have asked, and the teachings Jesus has given, reflect what life is to be in the period in which the Church is established, what His power is like, how they are to live as servants of the Church.  My study bible says here that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  According to the commentator Theophylact, it's as if He's telling them that they must think on all of His ministry -- teachings and great signs -- so that when they see Him on the Cross they will understand His suffering is not because He's powerless to do otherwise.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  Once again we see the disciples focused in a sense of worldly power, applying it to the Kingdom and what kind of power Jesus wants us to understand.  This time, it is the mother of John and James Zebedee who requests a particular place for her sons, who are close friends to Christ.  She herself forms part of the women who have supported Jesus' ministry and been with Him since Galilee.  James and and John's own involvement in this request is revealed in the Greek, when Jesus says, "You do not know what you ask . . . "  There, the "you" is plural.   Again, my study bible emphasizes the voluntary nature of Christ's death on the Cross.  He calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It says, "The Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is Baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6)."  This is a prophecy here by Jesus when He tells John and James, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. . ."  Both of them will lead lives of persecution and martyrdom after Pentecost.  The places they ask for are not given arbitrarily, but rather they will be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  As for those who hold places of honor in the Kingdom, it would be impossible that anyone holds a place of equality to Christ.  In the history of the Church, the human beings most honored as holy are the Virgin Mary ("most blessed among women" - Luke 1:28), and John the Baptist (the "greatest born of women" - Matthew 11:11).

And when the ten heard it, they were great displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Once again, the disciples are given a teaching on power and authority, what His Church should be like -- a preparation for the time after His Resurrection, the time in which we now live.  In Luke's Gospel, this teaching is given within a context of all of the apostles disputing about their places.  What we remember is that He's just given them the third prophecy of what is to happen; repeatedly their minds are on expectations of an imminent Kingdom manifesting and their places in it.  This is the clearest and most distinct teaching about how His power and authority conferred on them is not to be that of worldly kings.  The emphasis is on service.  The kings of the Gentiles at Jesus' time were exceptionally ruthless, that was particularly so for the family of Herod.  These power-hungry "heathen" the Jews considered an abomination, and Jesus compares the disciples' will for power to them.  Jesus contrasts such kings to Himself, who serves, and will give His life as a ransom for many -- meaning for all.  Once again, Jesus' example isn't only about who Jesus is or even what grace and holy power does:  it is an example for each one who would be His disciple.

Once again we are given an important distinction about power, and it is pure preparation for the life of the Church to come, of which these men will be its first Bishops.  So how do we serve?  How do we understand Jesus' life -- and death, and even Resurrection -- as an example to us all?  How do we incorporate these teachings about service into our own lives?  Certainly humility comes first.  How could we know what it is to serve unless we first work at the spiritual reality within us, serving Him by emptying of all our worldly expectations and ambitions to Him, and seeking His way, His word, for service and discipleship.  To my way of thinking, this is how we live a prayerful life, and I believe we will be led to discard what we need to along the way as conflicts come up in the course of our path with Christ.  The apostles really do set the tone for us to understand what kinds of foibles and human weakness get in the way of good discipleship.  They are an example of who we all are, our typical ways of thinking, and just how hard it is to really "change our minds," to practice the kind of repentance (or metanoia in the Greek) to really be what Christ asks us to be.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will teach them that He has chosen or selected them out of the world, separated them, made them different, and for this the world will also hate or persecute them.  For us, too, the process of being chosen out of the world is always a continuing force in the spiritual nature of what it means to follow Christ.  That is, the reality of the transformation we take from His teachings, and in His Spirit, in the course of what it is to have and live a prayerful life.  To change our understanding of power and how it works is a most basic and deep form of transformation in human understanding.  I don't think it's a mere intellectual process.  It is the same as the necessity for God's help in undoing attachment to great possessions, such as Jesus taught in the encounter with the rich man who asked about eternal life (see the readings from Tuesday, and especially Wednesday).  The two issues, possessions and power, are linked.  But it is with God's help that we come to understand how we are to conduct ourselves; this includes our relationship to the most powerless, the ones with "no currency" in any given situation.  Let us consider both examples:  Jesus on the Cross, and the disciples who ask after their places even as Jesus has just taught of His death and suffering.  There are always things we need to learn, and this is a long -- lifelong -- learning curve.

From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?

 Now while they 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."

- Matthew 17:22-27

Yesterday, we read that after the Transfiguration, when Jesus, Peter, and James and John Zebedee had come to the crowd gathered, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

 Now while they 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.  This is the second time that Jesus has predicted His death and Resurrection to the disciples.  The fact that they are exceedingly sorrowful tells us that the news is beginning to sink in.  Jesus' prediction, now made twice, shows us He's not been taken against His will to His Passion but is going freely.

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."  My study bible explains that the temple tax was an annual head tax on all male Jews (with the exception of priests) who were over twelve years of age.  This tax was taken for the maintenance of the temple (see Numbers 3:43-51).   My study bible says that since Jesus is the Son of God, He's both the High Priest and "proprietor" of the temple, thereby exempt from the tax.  He pays anyway, both to avoid unnecessary offense and to show that He's totally identified Himself with human beings.  Jesus asks Peter about taxes or customs levied by kings or autocrats particularly upon colonial subjects (strangers), not sons.   In this case, Christ the King graciously pays for both Peter and Himself, teaching us how He differs from a worldly king.

This interesting little glimmer of the stuff of fairy tales and dreams takes us to an interesting place:  Peter must cast a hook into the sea, take up the first fish, and find a piece of money in its mouth.  It's so intriguing because it is very unusual for the gospels.   This isn't a story about healing.  It's about making a payment.  So what are we to make of this?  First of all, Jesus' words elucidating and distinguishing in His questions to Peter just where customs and taxes come from when they are paid to kings have to make us think.  Why is He asking this?  Surely He's suggesting something about finance and power.  It reminds us that Jesus is always encouraging and evoking community; this is the thing for which the temple stands, what it must embrace and shelter.  The sons are not foreigners, not subjects upon whom a king would normally impose tribute.  But for this fisherman to catch a fish and find a coin is a mysterious act of God, a providential circumstance.  Jesus, as King, gives us signs of abundance (fish), and grace (the free gift of the coin).  He doesn't work the way a foreign ruler; does, and with Him we are all sons, those who inherit the Kingdom.  There will always be things that are not "fair" in the world.  A worldly reality may interfere with the most sacred of duties, well-meant activity.  Jesus will cleanse the temple of the money-changers and animal sellers, complaining that it should be a house of prayer, and not a "den of thieves" -- the way He characterizes this place of commerce.  But the gracious Lord seems to be teaching us that through our faith in Him, we will find the grace to negotiate a compromised world appropriately.  We will be guided in the ways in which we are to pay what we need to, with the least harm caused all around.  Let's remember this scene.  Life may not be perfect and pure.  But with His grace, we are led through a world of necessary compromises.  We are led to pick our battles. But we're never to be blind sheep.  Jesus' announcement of the Passion to come teaches us where the real battle will be met for Him.  His grace will always be present for each of us, providing us with what is necessary to meet the circumstances.

This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors.  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.  

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

- Luke 22:14-30

In our recent readings, Jesus has been in Jerusalem.  It is Passion Week.  He entered Jerusalem in His  Triumphal Entry, and wept over it, lamenting its lack of peace.  He has cleansed the temple, and already run into confrontations with the leadership, as they asked Him, "Who is he who gave You this authority?".  He told a parable against them, warning them of the times of the Gentiles and of Judgement.   The leadership has tested Him regarding payment of taxes to the Romans, and life in the Resurrection.  He has spoken against the hypocrisy of the scribes and tested them about Scripture,  He pointed out the poor widow, who gave all she had to the treasury.  He has spoken of the future destruction of the beautiful and magnificent temple, and the persecutions to come for the Church.   He warned His disciples not only about the destruction of Jerusalem, but also about the end of the age and the signs thereof, saying,  " Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  He then taught the parable of the fig tree, and warned of what was coming, to look for the signs.  He told them,  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away, and warned against preoccupation, and carelessness, to remember the Day that is coming.  Each day the people came to hear Him in the temple, as He stayed with the pilgrims.  In yesterday's reading, the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes ought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water, follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" '  Then he will show you a large furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."   My study bible says, "The Passover signifies deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt.  Now Jesus, with fervent desire, anticipates the great deliverance of humanity from the power of sin, which will be accomplished through His saving death, establishing the New Covenant.  This Passover meal is the Last Supper, continued in the Eucharist of the Church, which is to be fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."   My study bible notes here that Luke reports the partaking of two cups, and that several cups were offered during the Passover meal.  These passages so far in today's reading reflect something noted above in my study bible, that the continual Eucharist is ongoing, for it is "to be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God."  Jesus will be the "firstfruit" in that Kingdom, but its process is ongoing, even to us in the present time, as we, too, look toward its fulfillment in the Kingdom.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." A note here reads:  "Christ is the Lamb of God who gives Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross for the salvation of the world.  Remembrance in its biblical significance is a reliving of the original event.  We do this through the sacred act of the Eucharist."

Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."  Again, another cup is taken, and this one in covenant.  When we remember in the spiritual sense we not only relive, but we bring to ourselves the reality of the Person we recall -- and thus our covenant with Him.

"But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study bible says, "With these words Jesus looks ahead to His arrest and suffering.  Although Christ goes as "has been determined" it doesn't lessen the weight and responsibility of the betrayal involved.  Clearly He is speaking up to the one who is present who will do this, and it is a great warning, even as Judas has already negotiated to betray Him to those who wish to kill Him.  It's not too late to turn back even now; we can see even at this time in the warning and condemnation of such an act, a desire to save Judas.

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.   My study bible says here, "In view of Jesus' willingness to die for the world, the concern of the disciples over who among them is the greatest is reprehensibly small-minded."  Clearly they sense from Christ's words that the Kingdom is near.  They don't really understand what exactly is happening at all.  Their first thoughts go to their position, showing they're not immune from the human weakness that pervades the society.  Jesus has repeatedly and scathingly criticized the religious leadership for prizing position above all else.

And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors."  A note reads, "Some kings called themselves benefactors, a title which is not without irony considering their tyrannical rule."  In a modern age, people of great wealth also may call themselves benefactors, and perhaps in doing so are practicing what we now call "public relations" in the face of widespread public disapproval of some business practices.  In our modern times, we can look back a couple of centuries and see this happening in the rise of the great monopolies of the industrial age, for example.  We can today look around ourselves and consider those in positions of great power, what they may be responsible for and the way they would like to be remembered and known.  These "benefactors" in Jesus' time are examples He calls to mind in order to make a point to them. 

"But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study bible says, "Jesus Himself is the supreme example of His teaching that greatness consists in humble service to others."   He is giving them a lesson on real leadership in His Church, an example to emulate.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  A note reads, "Jesus is not speaking of two different kingdoms but of one kingdom which will be fully revealed at His glorious return.  Then, the disciples will sit on thrones occupying honorary positions as reward for sharing in Christ's trials."  He will honor those who honor Him.  In true answer to their question of position in the Kingdom, He refers to the end of the age, the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.  We remember He's speaking to the future Bishops, the Apostles and foundation of the Church.  Each will serve in ways that imitate His sacrifice.

Christ's teachings initiate the age in which we now live.  We remember Him in the things we do, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist.  But this remembrance is much more than remembrance in a conventional or colloquial sense.  It is, as my study bible points out in a note, to relive the events.  And it is even more than that, in the mystery of sacrament, we recall in a way that reunites us, makes Him present and a part of ourselves, and we renew the covenant we have with Him.  In that we have His Kingdom among us and within us.  The Christian life is one of participation, and even in the Eucharist He continues to give of Himself to each of us.  In the many cups, we see His generous Spirit, the grace with which our lives are filled, that is always on offer to us.  We see His giving, the nature of the service He has taught His Apostles.  And so we may still wonder, and participate, and act.  We may consider what it is to betray this love and this grace, this giving.  We may consider the example to us of leadership:  what is and what is not appropriate to this kingdom.  His teaching in today's reading ends on a note of service, how His kingdom of earth is to be represented.  And then there are the words of more remembrance, that they are the ones who continued with Him in His trials.  The life in Christ is not an easy one, not simple.  We may go through a lot of stumbling blocks and trials.  Even in Judas' betrayal, it is not too late for him at this point to turn to His Lord for help, to stop and repent and undo what has been set in motion.  We remain with Him, we remember Him, and we do so continually, with cup after cup.  It is never too late to turn to the Lord, at each moment the cup is on offer.  We continue with Him through His trials, and through those that may be given to us.  Each moment His love and remembrance and presence is on offer to us.

Does your Teacher pay the temple tax?

Now while they 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."

- Matthew 17:22-27

In yesterday's reading, a man whose son suffers from epilepsy asked Jesus, "Lord, have mercy on my son." The disciples could not heal the boy. Jesus said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." The boy was brought to Him, and healed. The disciples asked why they could not perform the exorcism. Jesus said, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Now while they 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. This is the second time that Jesus is telling the disciples about His death and Resurrection, preparing them for what is to come. It is an understanding that this is something He is going to do willingly. It is something that they must understand and accept is going to happen.

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." The temple tax, says my study bible, "was an annual head tax on all male Jews 12 years of age and up, excepting priests and rabbis, for the maintenance of the temple." I think there may be a hint here of a way to trap Jesus. Is He in violation of temple law? I've read in other commentary that it seems Peter is embarrassed, and so immediately answers, "Yes." As representative of Christ, he's in a position to be questioned for what His Master is doing. This is the first time in the gospel that we see Peter in such a situation. Jesus is known as a Teacher, but He's not a student of a famous rabbi, nor is He a priest.

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?" The really interesting part of this conversation here is that Jesus anticipated Peter. Peter has spoken to the people collecting the temple tax without Jesus' knowledge -- but here Jesus is completely aware of what has happened, and is there to provide guidance for Peter. As I see it, it is a kind of preparation for leadership that is taking place. Jesus is teaching and grooming. The question is interesting: Jesus poses a question about taxation in general, as meted by "kings of the earth." Subjects of all nations may have taxes or obligations for tribute imposed on them, through conquest and compulsion. The question relates to the temple in the sense of Jesus' identity. We have just heard Peter's confession of faith, that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." After that came Peter's witnessing of the Transfiguration. So, as "Son" Jesus is asking whether or not it would be customary for Him to pay the temple tax. As Son of God, says my study bible, Jesus is "supremely free of this tax."

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." This is important to understand, because Jesus pays the tax even though He has established that He is free from it. It is an incident in which He is acting in accordance with the structures and customs -- a kind of mirroring of what will happen in the Crucifixion, in some sense. My study bible says, "Nevertheless, He does not refuse to pay it, nor does He tell His disciples to pay it for Him. But, having proven Himself not liable to it, He gives it. He pays it not as a debt, but in consideration of their weakness and to avoid unnecessary offense." As I see it, Jesus' behavior is loving toward Peter, who has promised His Master pays the tax. Avoiding unnecessary confrontation, then, is part of this ministry. There will be a time when Jesus will, of course, act as Son to cleanse the temple. But the time for that confrontation is not here and not now, and He will not endanger His disciples.

So let us consider today's passage: there is a time for confrontation, and a time to act within the laws of custom and the society. Jesus shows great grace in accepting to pay both for Peter and Himself. Of course, Jesus doesn't have the money Himself -- but instead advises Peter to cast a hook into the water, and find a coin in the mouth of the first fish that comes up. Looking at this image, it's highly symbolic of the Church. We know that a fish will be the symbol of Christ the Savior. The word meaning fish in the Greek was ΙΧΘΥΣ (IXThΥS). It's an acronym: each of its letters begin a word in the following sentence -- "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior." So, there is a hidden context of the "sons" of the king and the Son of God in the imagery of the fish that holds the coin. It's Peter's confession in a visible concrete image -- and it is that faith that will feed and supply the Church, that provides the coin for the temple.

This passage, and Jesus' acts in it, are permeated with grace -- the tremendous grace of King of kings and Lord of lords, incarnate as human being, teaching, and, with patience, bearing all circumstances of the world in the way the Father wills it. He accepts His fate and strongly pushes His disciples to do the same. Great grace is in His example, and great love in His teaching and care of the disciples, especially Peter who will one day be a great leader of the flock. Elsewhere Jesus will use a coin to teach, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." But here the coin is a message about faith, and strength, and endurance, bearing all things, acceptance. Can we seek that will as He does, and as He instructs His disciples? Can we practice this kind of patience and endurance? Do we have the faith to do so? The disciples learn from Him, even as they are "exceedingly sorrowful."