If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes

 

 Now as he drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 

- Luke 19:41-48 

 

 Yesterday we read that Jesus went up toward Jerusalem.  When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as they went, many spread their clothes on the road.   Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 

 "Now as he drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  Jerusalem, as noted in yesterday's reading, means "foundation of peace."   My study Bible comments that only faith in Christ brings true peace, which is a truth hidden from a city which will soon rebel against its Savior.  There is a kind of peace which is shallow, which comes from ignoring issues of truth.  There is a genuine peace, my study Bible explains, which is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  Genuine peace has division as a byproduct because not everyone wants truth.  In the fallen world, it says, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see Luke 12:51, 1 Corinthians 11:18-19).  

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  This destruction of Jerusalem that Jesus foretells here would come in AD 70.  It is quite true that one stone would not be left upon another in the destruction of the temple.  My study Bible adds that this also describes the spiritual end of every person who lacks faith.

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 in His scathing indictment of these practices in the temple.  Those who bought and sold in it were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god) and were therefore considered to be defiling in the temple.  My study Bible adds that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  Each person is considered to be a temple of God, St. Paul writes (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), and so it's a sign as well that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  

 

Let us note again the great divisions in Jerusalem made evident in the text.  It tells us that while the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people sought to destroy Jesus, all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Jesus laments over Jerusalem itself, showing His love for the city and its people and its spiritual heritage.  He says, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."   The text ties this statement to the destruction of Jerusalem that would come in AD 70, when the temple would be destroyed by Roman soldiers, and tremendous devastation would occur to the city and its people.  What are the things that make for Jerusalem's peace?  Clearly Christ Himself is central to that peace, as my study Bible indicates.  That is, the person of Christ Himself, His teachings, His fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets in Himself (Matthew 5:17-20).  Should He have been welcomed as Messiah, or the religious leaders accepting His teachings regarding the kingdom of God, we might well wonder what would have happened instead of the ultimate destruction of the city in the first century.  As noted in yesterday's reading, Jerusalem remains a city with its divisions and turmoils and even violence.  So we have to ask, where is our peace?  How do we find it?  The world is rife with divisions, and even the citations in my study Bible point us to St. Paul's addressing of the divisions within the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:17-19).  How do we address our own divisions, and our own need for peace?  We first of all must place our faith in Christ, for it is there that peace is to be found.  This is a peace that means a reconciliation with God, and not simply a healing of division for its own sake.  There are also times when truth -- and true peace -- is covered up because it is not what people truly want.  Every sort of selfish ambition seems to get in the way.  The leaders in the temple are zealously guarding their places, and do not want Christ recognized as an authority separately -- and in open opposition -- to themselves.  They do not want to recognize His authority or divinity.  They resent His disciples' heralding His entry into Jerusalem as Messiah.  As for the common people in the temple at this time of the Passover, they delight to hear Him.  But John's Gospel tells us that at an earlier festival, the people are also divided amongst themselves regarding Jesus (John 7:12), which we can presume remains true at this crucial point in the final Passover of Christ's life.  At that same festival, the people ask one another, "But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?" (John 7:26).  So the Gospels present to us a picture of the dissension and divisions surrounding Jesus, the people's suspicion of their own rulers, the power held onto so zealously by the leaders in the temple, and the use of state power to come in order to condemn Jesus and put Him to death.  But again, we have to ask ourselves, what are the things that make for our peace?  Can we center ourselves in Christ?  Clearly these divisions all betray selfish and even financial motivations.  Jesus' first action in the temple indicates an important message to us about our divisions and our conflicting motives in life.  Can we submit our desires to Christ?  Can we put His kingdom first and our communion in it with Him?  Is that where and how our peace is found?  Even within the church at Corinth, when St. Paul writes of their divisions, he seems to bring up the divisions that lead strife among them in sharing the supper meant to unite them:  "Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.  For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk" (1 Corinthians 11:20-21).  Selfish desire leads the way, even at a communal gathering.  The great divisions within Jerusalem are the stuff of the strife of nations, and will become a major turning point in the history of the world, its civilizations, and empires -- while the discussion of the supper at the Corinth church is a division among what is small and intimate.  But each tells us of the importance of our own peace and where we find it and how we find it.  Our lives need to be centered in Christ, and it is for this that He will make His sacrifice out of which we receive the true mystical supper, the spiritual reality of the Eucharist.  For on the Cross, He will make His voluntary plea for our peace, and He will give us the true food and drink of that peace and that life in abundance.  The solution remains the same, even among the divisions and strife, big and small, that mark our world.  Let us remember, for our own part, to go to the place where we find that peace, and in turn offer all things back to Christ -- even our strife and division.

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"   The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

On Saturday we read that Jesus practiced His ministry in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  (The lectionary has skipped over chapter 6 for now, and we have begun reading in chapter 7.)  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; other said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time when Israel wandered in the desert of Sinai, led by Moses.  Here my study bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize the authority of God over our lives and our existence in the created cosmos.  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom, who paraphrases Christ:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of god.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"   The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   Jesus turns here to the themes which repeat themselves throughout His reported ministry in the Gospels.  What is a violation of the Sabbath?  What constitutes an act against the will of God?  As in other instances, He here states a "blameless" violation of the Sabbath, that of circumcision, as given by law of Moses (or as the text says, from the fathers).    He cites not only the purpose of the Law, but the full aim of the will of God:  to heal.  To judge with righteous judgment is to do what He has said in the verses above:  to desire above all to do the will of God.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  My study bible notes that these crowds are mistaken, in two ways.  That is, in both an earthly sense and a divine sense.  As human being, they are thinking of Jesus as being from Nazareth of Galilee, but this is not the truth.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem (7:42; Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't understand that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven, and as the divine Son He is eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore, this divine "origin" also remains unknown to them.   The crowds, as reported by John, reflect the confusion of the people regarding Jesus.  But Christ's emphasis remains on the desire to love and serve God, and the wisdom this confers.

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   Christ's hour is the time of His suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone, as my study bible notes.  Jesus comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings.  See also 8:20, 10:39.  John repeatedly gives us instances where Christ is the object of murderous intent, but it is not yet His hour.

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   Christ refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  It is a confirmation regarding His total foreknowledge and understanding of the culmination of His mission in the world.

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  We are reminded yet again that the term the Jews is a political term in John's Gospel, used to denote the leadership.  (As opposed to the people, and the crowd.)   To go among the Greeks is to go among the Gentiles; that is, the Greek-speaking populations of the world, for at this time Greek was the international common language in the way that English is today.  The Dispersion is the Diaspora of the Jews among the Gentile populations.  My study bible says that this is an unwitting prophecy by the leaders (and not the last one; see 11:50), which points to the time after the Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the Apostles. 

The confusion of the crowds speaks volumes.  It tells us about our own places in the world, and how confusing it is to find truth.  Even the leadership are confused as well, and perhaps led even more astray than the crowds are by their own envy and resentment and outrage that Jesus seems to be violating and upstaging their authority.  But Jesus Himself gives us all the key here to understanding Him, His aim, His works, and our own places in the universe.  He gives us one great key to seemingly all things, and in particular to wisdom:  "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  This is the key not only to doing as He teaches:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  But it is also given as the key to His own knowledge, when the leaders ask themselves, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  What Jesus offers us, then, in today's reading, is the key to discernment, to wisdom, and to good judgment.  That is, a sincere desire to do the will of God, to put our own wills second, and to find and to serve God's will.  This is no easy thing.  It's not simply about following rules written down and interpreted for us somewhere, as the passage clearly illustrates since so much evolves here around Jesus healing on a Sabbath.  The real key to seeking to know and do the will of God is in prayer, in dialogue.  And what is that dialogue like?  So much depends upon silence, upon our own capacity for silence and stillness in prayer.  The Psalmist tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).  Christ teaches us about intimate prayer with our Father who sees in secret -- even about the importance of "secretness" (if we may call it that).  "Secret" is another word for mystery in the Greek, we must remind ourselves.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that when we pray, we are to "go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place" to "your Father who sees in secret" (see Matthew 6:5-6).  Let us consider the practices of monastic prayer designed to take us to this secret place with our Father who sees in secret, such as the Jesus Prayer, and remember that there is in our depth a kind of sacred silence into which we pray.  (Here is a rather thorough article on the practice of the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart.)  It is said that God prays in us in silence, with language we're not keen enough to understand as anything but silence.  But this is also a great mystery.  Nevertheless, what remains with us is Christ's great teaching, this great key to all things:  that it is the will to do the will of God that really gets us someplace in life, that gains us the benefit of wisdom and understanding, discernment and good judgment.  This involves great humility, and its cultivation in ourselves, as Jesus says:  "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  Let us understand Him.  This is the way of the Cross (see Matthew 16:23-27).  Today is the day on which many branches of the Church commemorate the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary the Mother of God.  How could Mary have heard Gabriel speaking to her?  How could she have given her assent to the will of God?  Let us consider her as the model, even as His mother, for each of us.  Consider her life and what was of most central importance to her, how she remained with Him through all things and even at the Cross.  In humility we listen and accept and seek God's will for our own, even through all the times of our lives. 

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; other said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

- John 7:1-13

In yesterday's reading, Jesus witnessed about Himself to the religious authorities, and gave other witnesses to His identity:   "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom he sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  The lectionary skips over chapter 6, to which it will return later on in Lent.  In chapter 6, Christ speaks of Himself as the bread of life.  Once again, we remember that the phrase the Jews is used as a political term denoting the religious leaders, and not the people.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot) is an eight-day harvest festival in autumn.  It commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents, or tabernacles.  It is also the feast of the coming Kingdom.  This Festival was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews (together with Passover and Pentecost.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, my study bible explains, this feast had particular special events on its final, eighth day.  These included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  It also included the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  These events should be understood as backdrop for Jesus' teachings at this festival.

His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  The term brothers is used in the Near and Middle East even today to denote extended family.  These brothers are either stepbrothers of Jesus (children of Joseph by an earlier wife prior to his marriage to Mary, the mother of Christ), or they are cousins.  But the Gospel is careful to illustrate the nature of faith in Christ, and the people's response to Him.  Even His brothers -- His own people -- do not believe in Him.  Jesus' words echo His teaching to Nicodemus, but also the references to rejection, light, and darkness throughout the Gospel:   that the world hates Him because He testifies of it that its work are evil.  (See also 1:4-5; 10:11.)

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; other said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  My study bible explains that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance, as on Palm Sunday (12:12-16).  Again, the Gospel illustrates Jesus' place among the people, in the world, so to speak.  There are those who think well of Him, and others who do not.  But above all, people fear the leadership, and speak only in private about Christ to one another. 

In today's reading, the Gospel illustrates the nature of the crowds.  While we may understand questions of belief as those of individuals, the Gospel makes a clear note of the impact that "the world" has on individual decisions.  The people are eager to speak to one another about Christ, as He is by now a public figure.  The leadership despise Him and wish to put Him to death, for all kinds of reasons.   Out of fear, the people don't speak openly in front of the leaders who have decided to put Christ to death.   John's Gospel is the one that repeatedly speaks of the hearts of people (see, for example, 2:24-25).    Indeed, it is John's Gospel that tells us that Judas criticized the anointing of Christ by a woman (Mary of Bethany) not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief (see 12:1-8).  Darkness and light do not mix; we're told that the light shines in the darkness, but that the darkness does not understand it -- neither can it successfully suppress that light (1:5).  We have already been told of Jesus' saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country, referring to his hometown (4:44).  In today's reading, He speaks to His brothers about "the world" -- the phenomenon of crowds, the effects of fame, and how that is related directly to His truth.  So the Gospel makes it clear that faith, and where we place our faith, is not a simple matter.  Neither is it necessarily easy.  It requires discernment, and we need to separate out our faith in God and in Christ from following the crowds.  There is nowhere in the Gospels where the crowds necessarily have it right.  Frequently, crowds are all-too-easily stirred to an evil consequence through manipulation; for example, at the crucifixion.  There are the crowds who desperately seek Christ (and wish to make Him king) because He's fed them (6:26-27).  The Gospels do not take the point of view that all of this is clear or easy or simple.  Rather they tell us that the key to faith is discernment, a kind of response from the depth of ourselves.  Most essentially, real faith and discernment deeply depend upon an attitude of humility.  When Nathanael asks, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" and Jesus, meeting him, declares, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit" (see 1:43-51), Christ is praising Nathanael's lack of pretense, his directness, and his willingness to "come and see" for himself.  Most of all, no deceit implies simplicity and humility.  This is a man who is not double-minded, but sincere, one without pretense.  In today's reading, even Jesus' own relations do not believe in Him, and the crowds speak all things about Him, even as they fear the leaders.  It is a time of confusion, and we live in a world that confuses, in which all things can be said about anyone.  This is the nature of the world, as presented in the Gospels.  It is the nature of the darkness to despise the light.  Therefore, our best bet is the simplicity and directness of Nathanael, our own willingness to come and see,  and  perhaps most all, the humility to open our own darkness to the light so that we grow in that light.  This is the path of discernment, and Lent is the time where we focus on what we really need to be clear on that path.  We focus on humility, get down to the essentials, strip away the pretense, and focus on what we need and need to do.   Let us consider all the opinions of the crowds, and where we get when we simply follow them.  Openness to Christ requires of us a different discipline, an unpretentiousness, and a willingness to let the light shine on what we don't really want to see.  It is the gate to repentance, a willingness to change, to reconsider, to change our minds.   This is humility.  It puts God first, before everything else, and lets in that light even when it hurts to do so.

Zeal for Your house has eaten me up

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to the, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

- John 2:13-22

Yesterday we read that there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."   Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten me up."  In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the cleansing of the temple occurs at the end of Christ's ministry, in the beginning of Holy Week after Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  But John's Gospel gives us three Passover Festivals, from which we calculate the three years of Jesus' ministry.  Here in John's Gospel, the cleansing of the temple occurs right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and some patristic commentators believe that Christ performed this act twice.  The disciples are remembering verses from Psalm 69:   "I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me."  John's Gospel establishes from the beginning Jesus' alienation from the leadership, and His scathing outrage at the practices that harm the poor.  The money changers exchanged Roman coins for temple coins, and surely do so at an inflated price in order to make their profits.  Those who sold animals did so for the pilgrims coming to the temple in Jerusalem for Passover to make their sacrifices; doves would have been a poor person's sacrifice, as opposed to a lamb or a goat.   (In the Greek, this word also means pigeon).   One suspects the services of those who sell the animals are particularly necessary for pilgrims who come from far away, to the "house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7).  We recall from the synoptic Gospels that Jesus says, quoting from both Isaiah and Jeremiah:  "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves'" (Matthew 21:13.).

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to the, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Once again, we must recall that the term the Jews is used as a political term in John's Gospel, meant to designate the religious leaders.  Here they demand a sign from Jesus that He has authority to cleanse the temple, a sign that He is the Christ.  He is not a Levitical priest, who would have historical temple duties to perform.  The chief priests and the elders demand to know what authority He has (see Matthew 21:23).   My study bible comments that as Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He answers in a hidden way.  The one sign which will appear for all is that of His death and subsequent Resurrection; he will be raised in three days.

We notice how Scripture echoes and reflects off of itself, adding meaning and substance to each occurrence.  The disciples understand Jesus' actions when they recall various parts of Scripture.  They understand His saying, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, after He has risen from the dead.    There is at once a timeless quality to Scripture and also a kind of omnipresence.  In every circumstance, a snippet of Scripture may spark an understanding or help us to derive a meaning from something happening in our lives.  What the psalmist wrote thousands of years ago may help us to understand a particularly difficult struggle we are encountering here today in our spiritual and worldly life.  A saying of Jesus may be quite mysterious to us, unless we find ourselves also plunged into a struggle for our faith in the midst of bad choices -- then we may find ourselves carrying our own crosses and come to know what it is to struggle for our faith and to rely on God in prayer as He did.  We note how in today's passage, the inspiration of wisdom acts both backwards and forward to illuminate the disciples:  they recall a line from Psalm 69 as Jesus cleanses the temple, which illuminates precisely where He is in His ministry, rejected (as we will later read in John's Gospel) by both family and the community leadership.  His saying about destroying the temple and building it up in three days remains mysterious to them --  until after the Resurrection, when the meaning is illuminated for them.  The timeless and omnipresence quality of the Scriptures work for us at all moments of our lives.  One passage may apply one day to illuminate a particular struggle we have.  The same passage may come back to us many years later, when we find ourselves yet again in the midst of struggle, but this time with more structure and experience to it, and yet the same lesson applies.  In Christ we find embodied the realities of the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  Particularly for the Fathers, those patristic commentators who built the theology of the Church, the fulfillment of type became an essential way to understand Scripture.  In the burning bush of Moses, for example (Exodus 3:1-5) is seen a "type" of the Virgin Mary:  a human being "embraced" in the Holy Spirit, and yet not consumed but giving birth to the Savior of all.   In our earlier reading in John, when Jesus tells Nathanael that he will see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, Jesus alludes to Himself as the Ladder dreamed of by Jacob (Genesis 28:12-15).  This is yet another fulfillment of "type" from the Old Testament.  Later on, in chapter 8, John's Gospel reports Jesus saying to the religious authorities, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (see John 8:48-59).  This is another reference to Himself and to His divine nature as both Son and Lord, unmistakably taken from the revelation to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14), when God was revealed as I AM.  Therefore in order for us to understand the important nature of Scripture, we must cease to understand the Gospels simply as history books, or seek only to understand them as merely factual or historical text.  Scripture exists on many levels of reception and understanding, and it work within us on a spiritual basis, working with our own spiritual nature, an intersection of depth that includes many dimensions within us of experience, insight, wisdom, and personal growth.  In fact, how exactly that will happen for us is incalculable, and how many layers of meaning may be included for us also inestimable.  Our very spiritual nature, an echo and reflection of the One who created us, is also simply that mysterious, and meant to be entered into as a journey -- similar to the journey which the entire people of God entered into with Moses.  We are not the architects of that journey, much as we would like to take comfort in the idea that we are fully in charge of our lives.  The omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal reality of God will make its own plans and hold its own discoveries for us to find along the way, broadening and deepening what we are capable of understanding, and just who we might think we are.  And this is the purpose of Scripture, to take us to places where we really don't know what we're doing -- to places where we simply "don't know what we don't know" but have yet to discover.  We're not the ones in charge, and thus there is prayer, and -- Scripture, to help guide the way for our own journeys of struggle in faith.  This is the adventure of a lifetime, in truth, and more than we can imagine, if we but choose and ask to see it.  The disciples who follow Christ, and those countless ones who came before, all contributing in one way or another to our faith, desired fervently to see it.  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples, "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 10:23-24).  How many today are blind to what they don't know and do not seek to find?  Let your own life be a light, as John's Gospel will teach us to seek and dwell within.  Those who see only the material in life would have us be blind to all that gives meaning and depth; do not let such a "den of thieves" rob you of the beauty of light and life, even if your zeal is something they cannot comprehend.

And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things"

 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." 

- Luke 20:1-8

On Saturday, we read that as Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children, within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  My study bible tells us that these things refers to Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as Messiah (see Friday's reading), the cleansing of the temple (Saturday's reading, above), and His preaching, as we were told that He was teaching daily in the temple (above).   All of these thing would be prerogatives of the Messiah.  The elders confront Jesus as it was the duty of the priestly descendants of Levi to manage the temple.  My study bible adds that while Christ as descended from Judah (see 3:33), He is the High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4), a priestly line which is far greater than that of Levi, as Christ's authority is from the Father.

But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."   In Jesus' exchanges with the leaders of the temple, we see a kind of alacrity and dexterity in debate that characterizes Jesus' retorts.  He at once is willing to fence with them in argument, to the delight of the crowds.  Here, He refuses to answer directly, but keenly turns the tables on the ones who question Him as to His authority.  What do they know about authority, Jesus seems to ask.  And of course, they are unable to answer, so He refuses also.

Jesus is Logos, the Word, John's Gospel tells us (John 1:1; Logos means Word in Greek).   As Son and Word, we know Him as Creator or the Lord of the Old Testament, through whom all things were spoken into being (for example, see Genesis 1:3).  As Son Incarnate, the human Jesus, Jesus' interactions with those around Him surely live up to that divine name.  His use of language is brilliant.  It is concise, to the point, ever-ready to defend the truth He brings with His gospel, and always sharp, dexterous, and witty.  His debate with the authorities delights the crowds in the temple who listen to Him gladly.  With words, Jesus is light on His feet, so to speak.  With words, He embodies a motto the boxer Muhammad Ali used to describe himself in the ring:  with words, Jesus "floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee."  Nobody gets the better of Him.  Jesus is not a physical warrior and not an earthly king.  He doesn't make His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem riding on a horse or in a chariot, and neither does He have an army with Him.  But His real weapon is truth.  It is His gospel message, which is given to us in His words.  It is conveyed through His brilliant use of parables, His witty replies, His phrases which still remain in all languages examples of use of language that, 2,000 years ongoing, capture our ears and imaginations in vivid poetry and images.  It is the word of the Word that captures us, grabs our hearts, and gives us a proliferation of meanings that apply in varied moments of our lives to our own circumstances.  Jesus is master of language, and this is His weapon, the sword with which He fences so brilliantly with His opponents.  Lest we forget what we are about, it is the Word of God we study here on this blog each day, and that lives with us and speaks to us, interacting within our earthly lives.  St. Paul writes that "the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  This is the power of the truth.  It is that which is necessary for the ultimate judgment at Christ's return.  It is that which brings us division, and that for which we seek discernment.  The word of God is that within which we steep ourselves in our own lives to "keep us in the right place," so to speak.  So let us consider, when we read Jesus' replies in defense of His truth, His disciples, and all those who come to Him, what it means to be the Word, to live the word of God, and that this word remains active with us and within us.  The life of the kingdom is here, ever-present -- and we need to know just what this good fight into which we, too, are invited, is all about.

If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children, within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

- Luke 19:41-48

Yesterday we read that, after telling the parable of the Minas, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  My study bible explains that Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  The things that make for your peace are the things of God -- faith in Christ, the one who has come to them.  This is where true peace remains.  My study bible calls this a truth which is hidden from a city that will soon rebel against its Savior.  A false peace is one that suppresses truth in order to achieve a shallow harmony.  But genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and a surrender to spiritual truth. Referring to 12:51, my study bible says that genuine peace has division as a byproduct, because not everyone wants this spiritual truth.  In a fallen world, a spiritual battleground, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see 1 Corinthians 11:18-19).

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children, within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  This destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by Jesus here, would occur in AD 70.   My study bible says that this also describes the spiritual end of all who lack faith.

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  My study bible explains that those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals which were used for sacrifice.  Among these were also money changers, who would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins, since those coins bearing the image of Caesar were considered defiling in the temple. "My house is a house of prayer" echoes Isaiah 56:7.  Jesus' condemnation, "You have made it a 'den of thieves'" quotes from the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:11).

In today's reading, the division that is so much the focus of today's reading, and Christ's prophecy over Jerusalem, begin to manifest.  Jesus has just been welcomed into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry, as Messiah (see yesterday's reading, above).  But right away, after Jesus' condemnation of what is going on in the temple as He characterizes it to be "a den of thieves" after Jeremiah's prophesy, we're told that while He was teaching daily in the temple . . . the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  There is this immediate division, between those who rule the temple and the community with power -- the religious leadership -- and the people, who were very attentive to hear Him.  Although clearly there will be divisions stirred up among the people which are coming, at this point one thing is clear:  they universally wish to hear Him.  This happens repeatedly in the Gospels, where people from all walks of life among the Jews wish to hear Jesus speak.  When the tax collectors also gather to hear Him speak is one of the times that mark the turning point in His ministry, at which we have notable criticism from the Pharisees, those in leadership.  Jesus always defends those who come to hear Him, and at this point, after His entrance into Jerusalem, the pilgrims coming from everywhere among the Jews, even the diaspora, want to come to hear this famous Teacher speak.  Somehow this emphasis on the need for all the people hear, with Christ at the center in which there are those who wish to silence Him, tells us something about freedom in the truth.  It serves as underpinning for emphasis that true peace is found in Christ, not in a shallow suppression of division.  In a note on the passage above in which Jesus laments over Jerusalem, and her failure to know the things that make for her peace, my study bible returns us to 12:51, in which Jesus states, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division."  It reminds us of the wisdom that, in this world and its condition, division is the response to truth.  What is important for us to note in these scenes given to us here is that for the common people, it is desirable at least to hear Christ, while for the leadership their desire is simply to be rid of Him.  In the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, found in Matthew 13, Jesus lays out the reality of such divisions in the world, where the good wheat is closely resembled by the tares, which are indigestible for human beings.  What looks good might not always be good, and requires a "higher power" to sort one thing from another.  The truth is not always obvious to us!  This underlines the importance of prayer, of discernment, of repentance, and humility.  In a time of division and conflict, we need to know what we are about.  The ideals of service and humility stand us in good stead, plus constant prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).   (Regarding "constant prayer" I have added to my Prayers page a text for Prayers of The Hours, modified for personal use.)  Let us remember the condition of our hearts, when the world shows us confusion.   At such times, it is all-important to seek the things that make for our true peace, to find ourselves in God's love.

Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM

"He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and  was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, which commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the deserts, following Moses toward the Promised Land.  Jesus has been preaching to the crowds, and disputing with the leadership.  In yesterday's reading, the leaders answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is out father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  As they are unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, those among the leadership who are His enemies resort to personal insult.

Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word."  Once again, for Christ all things go back to the Father -- His identity is in His relationship to the Father, the sharing of one will as Son, and obedience as human being.  The implication here is clear, that all should do the same -- although there is only one divine Son who shares all attributes with the Father.

Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and  was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  I AM (in Greek, ἐγώ εἰμί/ego eimi) is the divine Name of God in the Old Testament, first revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).   My study bible says that to the Jews, this was a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God, as is shown by their reaction in picking up stones to throw at Him, as death is the penalty for what they consider to be clear blasphemy (see also Mark 14:62-64).   John places special emphasis on the use of this Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  This divine claim, my study bible further notes, illuminates Christ's authority even over death (verse 52), which is a power belonging only to God the Father.

As we have observed before, for Christ everything always goes back to the Father.  And, we should say, it goes back to relationship to the Father.  His identity as Son comes from His relationship to the Father.  The sharing of attributes with the Father still originates with God the Father.  But this relationship with the Father that confers identity and capacity isn't just for the Son and Spirit, it is also for us, although we are not of the same "substance" as the Church will later decree in her understanding.  Jesus says, "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  This is a clear implication that to be "of God" is also something for us as human beings.  Moreover, it is not something merely desirable but rather something we are called to be.  The capability to hear Him, He says, rests in this faith that links us to God in the first place.  We use the word "relationship" to indicate connection, but it is a weak and feeble word for what this indicates.  "Communion" gives more of an indication of what kind of relationship we are speaking of.  While the communion of Son and Spirit is complete with the Father, our communion is different.  We are creatures.  We are meant to grow in this communion, and as we do so, we may take on characteristics that are "like" our Creator.  Jesus clearly states here that these leaders have failed, otherwise they would recognize and honor the words given to Him by the Father, rather than simply despising and condemning Him.  Of course this leadership is responsible to a greater extent than the average person, in the sense that their knowledge of God and of the Scriptures is meant to be authoritative.  They are the ones blessed with a tremendous spiritual heritage, for which they bear both authority and responsibility.  /They also bear responsibility for giving and safeguarding that spiritual heritage for the people.  In the point of view of the Gospel, their failure to recognize Christ is not excusable, but based on selfish motives.  Let us consider Christ's words about Himself and what they mean for us.  If we are to be also children by adoption, how do we live as His followers?  He follows His mission, even as He knows He will be condemned -- but His continual assertion of His truth is an offering of salvation, a potential for turning back, for repentance, until the end.

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.   Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of your keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

Yesterday we read that after the confrontations in Capernaum over His "hard saying" regarding His Body and Blood (see chapter 6), Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot), an eight-day festival.  The Jews is a term used to refer to the leadership, not all the people.  Regarding this passage, my study bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize His authority.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases Christ's teaching as follows:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of your keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus speaks of Moses as one who sought the will of God above his own, whose law they claim to keep.   The Law makes certain allowances for the Sabbath (Jesus gives an Old Testament example here), and these men practice circumcision on the Sabbath -- and yet they refuse to acknowledge the same allowance for making a man whole on the Sabbath.  This would be righteous judgment.   Instead they are rigid in their legalism.  (See this reading for Jesus' previous encounter with the leadership in Jerusalem, and the healing He did on the Sabbath).

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  These crowds who claim they know where this Man is from are mistaken in both an earthly sense and in a divine sense.  As a human being, they think Jesus is from Nazareth of Galilee.  But they don't know that He was actually born in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they cannot comprehend that He has come from the Father in heaven, eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore His divine "origin" remains unknown to them as well.

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  According to my study bible, His hour is the time of Christ's suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, an authority which is possessed by God alone.  Jesus comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see also 8:20; 10:39).

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"   Jesus refers, in His statements here, to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  This is where they cannot come.   They think perhaps He's speaking about going among the diaspora; among the Greeks means among the Gentiles, or Greek-speaking populations.  My study bible calls this an unwitting prophesy (and it will not be the last) which points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by apostles.

What does it mean that Christ would go among the Gentiles, that this is an unwitting prophesy?  In the position of these men who are leaders, particular that of the chief priests, is a certain type of authority that exceeds individual identity.  That is, in their role as chief priests, "unwitting" prophesies come regarding Jesus.  Here is one such example in today's passage, in which as they discuss among themselves they prophesy what will indeed happen.  Caiaphas, as high priest, will make another such prophesy when plotting Christ's death after the raising of Lazarus, when He says to the Council, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (see 11:49-52).  John's Gospel gives us transcendent meanings and values that exist side-by-side, even within the daily, "earthly" understanding of events and expressions.  It teaches us to look more deeply at words and sayings, to understand Jesus as One who gives us meanings -- imparts them to the substance of creation, of which He is Lord.  As such, to be both divine and human teaches us about the truth of creation, of the world around us, and what it is made for.  The sacraments He teaches us link the world and God together, link us together with the divine from which we also came as creatures, giving us adoption by God as children, as heirs.  In today's passage, Jesus points to the central way of knowing and living this truth, to seek and to try to live the will of God.  This involves humility, but also tremendous joy and even glory in God's love.  It will be exemplified in His own sacrifice, but in our own lives and the experience of countless faithful, it is an exchange of fulfillment, joy, exultation.  When Jesus says, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him," He gives us a formula for our own growth and fullness of personhood.  Moreover, He teaches us how we find discernment, when He says to the leaders, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  Jesus sets the example, but we are to follow and find this experience in our own lives, within ourselves, in prayer, in a lifetime of practice and growth in the virtues of humility He teaches.

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

- John 7:1-13

Yesterday we read that many of Jesus' disciples, when they heard Him teach, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you," said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.   The next three chapters (7:1-10:21) concern Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This entire section will cover eight days.  The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leadership, and not to the people in general.  By now Jesus has stirred up enough controversy so that they accuse Him of blasphemy.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Succoth or Sukkot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival, which commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  At that time they lived in impermanent dwellings:  tents, or tabernacles.  Together with Passover and Pentecost, this was one of the three most important festivals for the ancient Jews.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, the final eighth day of the feast included drawing water from the pool of Siloam (which will figure prominently in chapter 9 of John's account of Jesus' time at this festival), which was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar -- both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).   Moreover, it included the lighting of great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  All of these significant events of the festival are reflected in Christ's preaching in the following passages.

His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.   Jesus' brothers are his relatives, either step-brothers from a first marriage of Joseph, or cousins (by custom also called "brothers").  It is one more sign of opposition and lack of faith in Jesus' ministry, even among those closest to Him.  In Jesus' ministry, He frequently points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of My Father (see Matthew 12:49-50).  Jesus' time is the hour of His glorification, His time of being "lifted up" on the Cross.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.   That Jesus goes up to the feast, not openly, but in secret means that He does not make a grand public entrance, such as on Palm Sunday (12:12-16), the "time" of His final open confrontation with the authorities leading to the Cross and His Resurrection.  Here, John gives us the controversy among the people concerning Jesus.  But all are afraid to speak openly about Him because of fear of the leaders.

This time in Jesus' ministry is a time of the building up of tension and controversy.  By now the leadership oppose Him enough to want to kill Him.  Many disciples have fallen away from Him because of the controversial teachings He has introduced (see yesterday's reading, above).  The controversy is enough so that Jesus goes to the Festival in Jerusalem not openly, but "in secret" -- that is, without fanfare or announcement.  It is autumn; the next Passover (in the following spring) will be the time of Holy Week, the final week of His earthly life.  We observe that at this point, even His own relations (His "brothers") do not believe in Him.  John's Gospel reveals all this truth to us.  This is not a story of a typical kind of victory.  Christ's victory will be one shared with all of us, on the Cross, and at Resurrection.  He does not come with a conquering army that displaces and forcibly imposes power.  His is a mission of the heart and of the soul, to those whom the Father has given to Him, He says (see Saturday's reading).  John's Gospel gives us the spiritual reality of this mission, which intersects with each of us as we live in this world.  As the Gospel teaches, there are many who reject His message -- and at the same time, there are those of His followers whose faith only deepens, such as Peter's (yesterday's reading, above).  As Jesus proceeds through the Feast of Tabernacles, we are called to hear and see in His ministry the echoes and reflections of Israel's past, as they wandered in the wilderness with Moses seeking the Promised Land.  Jesus' ministry and preaching in the following several chapters will give us insights and deepened meanings of all of these events within Jesus' mission and our understanding of His Person and work in the world.  John's Gospel -- as we've said in earlier readings -- gives us the meanings behind the works in Christ's ministry.  It deepens our understanding of Christ, His work and presence in the world, through the lens of Jewish spiritual history.  And, in so doing, gives us a sense of the future of His mission in the world, the time in which we now live.  Let us journey through the events of this autumn festival with Him, and follow His meanings and teachings for us.