Why does this generation seek a sign?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

 

 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, to you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  

 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. 

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  In St. Matthew's telling of this episode, Jesus refers to this "adulterous generation," meaning one unfaithful to God.  My study Bible notes that Jesus refuses to prove Himself in a spectacular way, for a sign is never given to people whose motive is to test God.  

 

  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, to you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  Leaven is a word meaning a natural yeast, which transforms dough by an internal enzymatic process.  Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the influence of particular behaviors and attitudes.  My study Bible comments that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, my study Bible points out, "leaven" is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, it says, leaven symbolizes  force powerful enough -- and often subtle enough -- to permeate and effect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

 

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible explains that as the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), Jesus leads the man out of the town to heal him, so that the people would not scoff at this miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  This is furthermore a story about faith in that the blind man was healed in stages, indicating that he had a small amount of faith to begin with, as healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  His command not to return to the town, according to my study Bible, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we've been forgiven.  This story can also be read another way.  In the case of Jairus and his daughter, Jesus put the unbelievers outside of the home (those who ridiculed Him) and took with Him His disciples strongest in faith, the "inner circle" of Peter, James, and John, in order to shore up the faith of the little girl's parents.  Again, since the working of Christ's power is dependent upon faith, Jesus may also have taken this man out of the town in order to strengthen his faith, and separate him from those who would scoff.

 

Today's entire reading gives us a teaching about spiritual understanding, and its growth -- or lack of it -- within us.  In the first instance, we get a taste of Jesus' seeming exasperation with the slowness even of His own chosen disciples.  For despite two separate feeding miracles (see this reading and yesterday's reading, above), when Jesus speaks to them metaphorically of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, they believe that somehow He's complaining to them that they forgot to bring adequate bread with them.  Considering the miraculous feeding first of five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness from a few loaves, and then the second miraculous feeding of four thousand -- again from a few loaves -- this is an astounding assumption!  Jesus spells it out for them, going through the details of those miraculous multiplications of pieces of bread, seemingly marveling and wondering, "How is it you do not understand?"  This story appearing in the Gospels does us the great favor of knowing that even Jesus' disciples can be astoundingly slow to grasp faith, the working of Christ's power, and even in understanding His metaphors and parables.  If they are remarkably slow in today's reading (especially considering these recent miracles of the multiplications of loaves of bread by thousands), then it gives everyone hope for our own slowness to grasp the things of faith, the things God may be showing us in our lives, desiring for us to understand the things that can be painfully out of our reach.  There are times in life when God seems to repeat a hard lesson for us to learn, sometimes one can look back and realize that a particular lesson was decades in the making, our own growth remarkably slow in hindsight.  Nevertheless, this is part of what makes us only human.  It's our lot to grow, sometimes through painful understanding and difficult experience.  And, as we are all disciples if we are believers, Christ offers us spiritual understanding we need to learn, for a "learner" is what a disciple is.  Contrary to some assumptions, none of us is born with perfect faith; even for the saints, faith is a growth process, an evolution of an open heart to God, a willingness to accept and understand, and the deep need for humility to come to terms with God and where God leads us contrary to our own expectations and desires.  The story of the blind man living among the town of Bethsaida where people refuse to have faith in Christ despite the "mighty works" done among them is another illustration of the process of growth in faith.  We all might live in environments where faith is difficult, either due to those who scoff at it, or perhaps we're surrounded by nominal believers who honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are far away.  In any case, the Gospels give us many examples where faith, even contrary to Jesus' expectations, doesn't exist, such as in His hometown of Nazareth (in this reading).  There are many varied reasons and explanations for why faith doesn't take hold in someone's heart, from false expectations, prejudices, heretical beliefs, emotional binds and holds on their perception, habits, and just plain inconvenience, to a desire not to face what sacrifice it might take to truly accept God's path for them, even the changing image of themselves among the society.  One thing the Gospels make very clear is the role that hypocrisy plays in keeping people from God, putting on a show of piety while inwardly a hardened heart remains untouched.  All of these things remain with us, and even more influences today.  But the Gospels give us the truth, and don't sugarcoat it, when we read about the struggles for faith, even among Christ's own chosen disciples.  We'll never forget, either, the outright betrayal He will experience from one of the Twelve.  So, in short, there is hope for all of us and no need to be discouraged, for God is patient and God's mercy greater than we could hope.  But on the other hand, there is a price to pay for the refusal of grace; we lose what we could have gained, and our hearts grow further away from understanding, sometimes with difficult consequences.  In fact, in the perspective of the Bible, the difficult consequences are things to be grateful for, for we can learn from them (1 Corinthians 5:3-5).  A too-easy life can result in a failure with a far worse consequence (see the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus).  In the end of today's reading, Jesus tells the healed blind man who has recovered his sight, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  We recall that He has also warned His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  Sometimes we're not to tempt those who refuse faith with our joy and good news, for our own good. Nonetheless, there always remains God's open gift of mercy for those who will come to receive.  All of these lessons open up to us the mysteries of the heart, the place where we may grasp -- or reject -- God.  Jesus asks, "Why does this generation seek a sign?"  They demand to be convinced first; Jesus has to prove to them -- for their arbitrary standards -- who He is.  But that's not the way that faith works, and that's not His mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see men like trees, walking

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But he sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, " Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days of Christ's ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But he sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  A sign from heaven, my study Bible explains, means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works which were happening all around them.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  The leaven of the Pharisees, according to my study Bible, is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it explains, "leaven" is used both positively (as in the parable found at Matthew 13:33) and also negatively, as Jesus uses it in this instance.  In either case, what leaven symbolizes is a force powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect all that is around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, " Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible comments on this passage that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  This is why, therefore, Jesus leads this blind man out of the town in order to heal him.  My study Bible comments that this is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle, and thus bring upon themselves greater condemnation.   (Let us note also that Jesus does the same with the people who ridicule Him at the time of the healing of Jairus' daughter; see Mark 5:40.  This is also done to shore up the faith of those who seek the healing.)  My study Bible further asks us to observe that this blind man was healed in stages; it says that this snows that he had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  However, this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Jesus.  Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven, my study Bible says.  Note also that by doing so, this healed man will not surround himself with scoffers, but hopefully will remain in a place that helps preserve, protect, and grow his faith instead.  Those who seek healing in faith will often find it is necessary to separate oneself from old company or even community in order to retain the life in Christ we gain and the strength that comes through our faith, should such influences be detrimental to it.

 

The first thing we might note about today's reading is that what we might term the slow learning of the disciples parallels the healing in stages of the blind man in the second part of the reading.  This "slow learning" is also a matter of faith; for as the text says, their hearts were hardened.   That they had not understood  is also a matter which goes hand in hand with faith, and the depth of that faith in the heart.  If we go back to an earlier passage in St. Mark's Gospel, we find that the text tells us the disciples did not understand about the loaves, for their heart was hardened.  On that passage, my study Bible commented that to know Christ is a matter of the heart, and not simply the intellect.  It says that when our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, we're told, the heart is known as "the seat of knowledge."  So, we must find this understanding of the heart for ourselves, if we are to understand our faith and how it works in us and for us.  Note how this understanding, in fact, grows.  Nothing is static, else Christ's mission -- and the ongoing mission of the Church -- would be in vain.  At the very beginning of our reading for today, we see for ourselves the "hardness of heart" of the Pharisees; they don't understand at all, and for reasons that conflict with what that understanding and faith would mean for them.  It would result in a loss of authority for their doctrine, and the need to repent and change.  They are blind in a sense that is symbolic, and also reflects a parallel in the healing of the blind man.  In their blindness, a demand for a sign, even if fulfilled, would do not good anyway, and so Christ responds with the truth that He will not provide proofs on demand, signs to convince.  His signs come in response to faith.  So, in this context, we move on to today's somewhat humorous passage in which the disciples cannot understand what Christ is talking about, and misunderstand His comment regarding "the leaven of the Pharisees" for criticism that they have forgotten to bring bread with them -- to Christ's seeming exasperation.  His words, "How is it you do not understand?" would seem to indicate that our Lord even marvels at this possibility.  Yet, they are His chosen disciples, and there is something essential that makes them different from the Pharisees.  They remain capable of growing in their faith, and growing in their understanding of Christ and the gift of His mission into our world, and His ongoing ministry in which they will participate and grow also.  Finally, we come to the healing of the blind man, which is such a significant passage for so many reasons.  There is first the understanding which my study Bible comments upon, the gradual healing of the man.  Note how it comes from Christ's repeated touch with His hands on the man's eyes.  We have already written above the notation in the study Bible regarding separation from those who scoff, and what an important component of our need to strengthen and shore up our faith that is.  One common example we might take from modern life is the struggle against addiction, and the Twelve Step program's advocacy for reliance upon a Higher Power for help.  Very frequently recovering addicts will find they need to separate themselves from old friends or even community in that same struggle, for bad influences are detrimental to sobriety.  It's the same with our need for our faith, and these deep matters of the heart.  We need to do all we can to protect and guard our hearts in the very need to practice and grow our faith as well, regardless of circumstances.  Like the disciples will do in their ongoing journey and learning from Christ, the blind man gradually recovers his sight, even as it is parallel to his faith.  "I see men like trees, walking" is a memorable image of an image coming gradually into focus, something we can't quite see nor understand with a bare grasp only of what it is.  It is Christ who gives sight and heals, Christ who teaches us that He is the light of the world by which we shall truly see.  That He has great patience while we learn and grow, just as with the disciples, is the gift of the love of God for us, and teaches us in turn how to love. 

 

 

How is it you do not understand?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."   And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" 

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

On Saturday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."   And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  Once again, has Jesus has returned to Jewish territory (in our recent readings, Jesus has spent much time evading the Pharisees as He was in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, and then the Greco-Roman culture of the Decapolis).  So, in today's reading, we again feel the influence and scrutiny of the Pharisees, whom Jesus had quite possibly been evading after His last dispute with them.  My study Bible comments that the leaven of the Pharisees to which Jesus refers is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it points out, "leaven" is used both positively and negatively.  A positive example is in the parable of the Leaven found in Matthew 13:33.  Most often, however, it is found as a negative image, as in this case.  But, either way, my study Bible says, leaven symbolizes a force which is powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  

We note how seemingly slow the disciples are to understand Jesus' language, and what He is driving at.  It's almost a comical scene, a sort of play on words, to see how Jesus is speaking of leaven as a metaphor for the Pharisees' subtle, permeating influence as they demand a sign, while the disciples are focused on the mundane matters of organizing this ever-moving ministry.  "It is because we have no bread," they reason among themselves.  "He must be upset because we have no bread!"  We can all picture ourselves in such circumstances:  while we're busy trying to organize and follow a plan, the one with the real vision is trying to tell us something much, much more significant.  Indeed, part of the somewhat comical nature of what we read here today is just simply that which follows in Jesus' perhaps incredulous reminder to them of the two (not just one, but two!) feedings in the wilderness which they've so recently experienced.  We notice how Jesus goes through it piece by piece, and step by step, to work them through remembering what they seem to fail to grasp here:  "When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  It's like they are children who really, really need to be led bit by bit into this lesson.  We can almost hear the plaintive note in Christ's question that follows:  "How is it you do not understand?"  While in a completely rational and quasi-perfect world, in which every experience would lead to a completely logical conclusion, this might seem a little much.  But in terms of the true experience of human beings and the way our minds tend to work, this does not at all sound unusual.  In fact, what the Gospels give us so frequently, as perfect teaching tool, is a mirror of the common things we all do and experience, and even the difficulties of grasping the truly extraordinary nature of our faith. For, at heart, really, is not so much the miraculous nature of the feedings which Christ has given with meager resources to multiply, and through which we're given an early glimpse of the Eucharist, and so much more.  Rather, the depth of the matter here is the almost unbelievable concept that God became human, that the Man they know as Jesus, as their Teacher, is also divine.  How can our minds grasp this, really?  We might know it as an intellectual concept, as a given tenet of the faith, but in terms of really getting a hold of just how contradictory the concept is, it would in truth be hard to underestimate this reconciliation of impossible antithetical things in one Person.  And that is really the ever-continuing drama of our faith in the world.  It remains with us as the "stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks" in St. Pauls' words (1 Corinthians 1:23).  It's not just the Crucifixion that gives us this stumbling block and foolishness, but the whole of the almost stupefyingly difficult concept of the 'irreconcilable reconciled' in Christ Himself -- that God became human. No matter what the disciples have truly experienced in their day-to-day, hands on, time-bound material experience of life with Jesus, they still have not been able to process this extraordinary but nonetheless true picture of the reality which God has offered us in the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ.  It is the very thing at the heart of every struggle we might have with our faith, no matter what it is.  The disciples themselves passed out the bread to thousands of people from a handful of loaves, twice.  And yet, they still do not have the eyes to see nor the ears to hear the true message here:  that the things they think they know of their faith, the reality the Pharisees would present to them undermining the ministry of Christ by demanding a convincing sign,  is a kind of poisonous influence, and one that seeks to take away the gift of Christ's true reality presented to the world.  It is similar to Christ's response to St. Peter, when he cannot accept the message of the Crucifixion, later in this chapter.  Jesus' response is, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Mark 8:33). It is perhaps more dramatic, but yet another instance where it is the divinity of Christ that is the stumbling block, for it is only in that understanding that we know the Crucifixion will serve as the trampling of death by death.  Here, Jesus refers to the leaven of the Pharisees, the doubtful, insidious chipping away at our capacity for grasping the things of God, the gifts inherent in the paradox of Jesus and His ministry.  Jesus asks, seemingly bewildered, "How is it you do not understand?"  It is as if we hear God asking, how He could do so much to show us, His creatures,  God's reality, and yet we still don't get it.  But it is a question we always need to ponder for ourselves, for so often we lose sight of the importance of this noetic capability within ourselves -- the place of spiritual eyes and ears -- and the need to strengthen our capacity for faith through the practices we inherit from our traditions:  prayer, worship, liturgy, the saints, the angels, and the whole reality of God within Whom "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).  How could Jesus multiply loaves and fish to feed a multitude two times?  How can God become human?  How do we understand the paradox of faith?  This is where we start and where we finish, and it is the place to which we always return.  It is the place where we need to come to find Him, and even paradoxically, to truly find ourselves, the Alpha and Omega of life. 

 

 

Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy

 

 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him. 

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  

 

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

 

- Luke 11:53-12:12 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus spoke to the crowd, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

 

  And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.   We note now the level of hostility in the religious leaders.  Their response to His criticisms (in yesterday's reading, above) is simply to find a way to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."  Jesus takes His criticisms a step further, and warns the people against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Note that this is not simply done in order to criticize the leadership, but on the contrary, to lead the people to a true way of practicing faith themselves.  His statement that there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nothing hidden that will not be known is a way of emphasizing that hypocrisy avails nothing when it comes to the truth of God's judgment and the real state of our souls.  Everything will be revealed and known to all.  Believers should proceed about their lives with this understanding in mind.

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."   Even as He criticizes the leadership who now seek to find something with which they can accuse Him, Jesus speaks of the One more powerful than those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  Again, this is another reference to God's judgment, as in the statements regarding hypocrisy He's just made.  Whom you should fear refers to God (Proverbs 9:10).  My study Bible comments that the body will die eventually, one way or another.  It notes that St. Ambrose even states that the death of the body is not itself a punishment; instead, it marks the end of earthly punishments.  But the soul continues for all eternity.  Since God is the judge of the soul, our efforts in this world are to please God alone.  But God's witness to all things, from the great to the tiniest -- a single sparrow, even each hair of our head -- are all in the awareness of the Father who holds us precious.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."  My study Bible has a lengthy note on these verses.  It says that to say a word against the Son of Man is to reject Jesus as the Messiah.  Jesus seemed to be a mere man to many people before their conversion.  The scandal which was caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of the Son of God (1 Corinthians 1:23) makes this sin more easily forgiven.  On the other hand, the Holy Spirit does not have bodily form, and invisibly works divine goodness.  According to St. John Chrysostom and many other patristic teachers, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  My study Bible says that Jesus never calls the sin itself "unforgivable."  It notes that He makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.  

Today's reading marks a kind of turning point in Jesus' ministry.  While the scribes and Pharisees now attack Him in response to His criticisms of their hypocrisy, and they will seek to look for something with which they can accuse Him, Jesus becomes more public with His criticism.  In particular He attacks their hypocrisy, their way of practicing their faith with an eye to the outward appearance, fulfilling duties to keep their positions, but the love of God not touching their hearts, their inner lives.  Jesus goes forward with this teaching by declaring hypocrisy to be the enemy of spiritual life, and He takes this message directly to His disciples.  When the Gospel informs us that He begins to do so when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, it is a sign that -- although He is first addressing His disciples -- this teaching is going out to all the public and all the world.  In some sense, the teaching itself is calling out those who are prepared to become His followers and His disciples, who will follow His teachings.  Let us again note the importance of the emphasis on hypocrisy as the enemy of the spiritual life He teaches, and of the Kingdom which He preaches.  He is not simply preaching a kind of rebellion against the religious establishment, nor is He attacking the Law (which, in the sight of the Church, He as Lord has given).  He is attacking and condemning hypocrisy as the enemy of spiritual life, and in particular of the spiritual life that is the gospel of the kingdom He brings into the world.  He attacks not the Pharisees per se, but the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  He does not want His followers to imitate what they do (Matthew 23:3).  For in this Kingdom He brings into the world there is at work that which will reveal all, where "there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."   And we may ask why this is so, and Jesus provides the answer.  First of all, there is nothing that God does not know or see, and God's judgment will be active in the world.  Jesus gives vivid images of the small things of which we normally may take no notice -- the sparrows, even the number of hairs on our heads -- to express the vision and awareness of God in the least details of life.  But, even more powerfully, in this eschatology He brings, the life of the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit will be at work in the world, beginning a new age even in the midst of the present age.  Thus the God who led the Israelites to the promised land will be more fully present and at work in the world.  In John's Gospel, at the Last Supper, Jesus teaches that He must go away so that the Helper, the Holy Spirit comes.  "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (see the full passage at John 16:5-10).  Here it is the powerful testimony of the Holy Spirit that Jesus emphasizes when He says that "anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven."  This presence of the Spirit becomes even more greatly emphasized when Jesus includes the detail that when His disciples are brought "to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."  This means that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will be present to all who are followers and disciples of Christ -- for, as St. Paul writes, in the faithfulness of Christ we are all "temples of God," for the Holy Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16).  Christ is proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, and expressing more fully what it means that His disciples were sent out to proclaim that "the kingdom of God has come near you" (Luke 10:9-11).   He is giving us a powerful understanding of the reality of the kingdom of God and its "breaking in" upon us, so that we live in a world permeated at times by the reality of the age to come, even while we continue to live in the present age.  With the Incarnation of Christ, we entered what are called "end times," and that is the present age in which we live.  But He prepares us to be those in whom the Spirit can dwell, as temples of God, and also those who will help to manifest His kingdom in the world.  With His teachings against hypocrisy, He initiates the way we have to live, He teaches us what it means to be His disciples, and expresses how clearly we are known to a loving Father -- even as we are invited to become bearers of the Kingdom into the world by following what He teaches.  Let us note, most importantly in this context, the names Helper and Spirit of truth (John 16:13).  "Helper" is one translation for Παράκλητος/Paraclete.  In Greek, this literally means one who comes when called; and is characterized as an advocate, a counselor, one who may make a good judgment call and give solid truthful evidence.   In the present context, we can see the relation of a Counselor or Helper especially in times of trial and testimony.  And the Spirit of truth is that indispensable One who keeps us from hypocrisy, reminding us of Christ's words that nothing will be hidden, and helping to illuminate His teachings to keep us in His way (John 14:25-26).  Let us remember that, whether or not we are always aware of it, the Helper is always with us and at work, for the Kingdom is meant to dwell within us, even midst the present age.

Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch Him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11-26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.  

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but the Pharisees have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened; they ignored the works happening all around them.  Let us note also that Jesus refuses to give a special sign on demand as proof of His authority for His ministry; His life is an expression of the Father's will, and His identity as Son.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"   My study Bible says that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture there are many uses of leaven as an image:  it is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, leaven is a symbol of a force which is powerful enough (and frequently subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  

 

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch Him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  Matthew's Gospel tells us that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (see Matthew 11:21).  Therefore, my study Bible explains, Jesus leads this blind man out of the town in order to heal him, so that the people would not scoff at the miracle, which would bring greater condemnation upon themselves.  That this blind man was healed in stages ("I see men like trees, walking" . . . he was restored and saw everyone clearly) shows that he had only a small amount of faith; for, according to my study Bible, healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  Nevertheless, this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Jesus.  Christ's command not to return to the town, my study Bible says, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.

As we continually read in the Gospels, faith is an indispensable condition for Christ's healing.   Without it, there is seemingly no "connection" to Christ; there is no conduit for His healing power to work within a person.  It is as if we ourselves need to give permission, to say our own "Yes" to the acceptance of this power of God, in order for God to be able to work in us.  This condition is often tied to our freedom of will with which God has endowed us.  God loves us more than we can imagine, for love is the very nature of God (1 John 4:8).  Like the father of the Prodigal Son in the parable found at Luke 15:11-32, God awaits our return with great desire; so much so, that in the parable describing this love, the elderly man runs to meet his son from afar off, an act considered undignified -- even inappropriate -- in the culture in which Christ first told this parable.  But this is the love of God and God's desire for us simply to return that love.  But God, like the father in the parable, will not force us to return God's love.  God does not compel us to love God.  Thus, this is what we call our free will, and accept that this is part of God's freedom established for us.  So, one may consider the act of faith to be a consent to the working of God within us.  Somehow, for Christ to be able to perform miracles, faith must be present first.  It makes sense in the context of today's reading, in which Christ will not provide miracles on demand for those who challenge Him to prove His identity and divinity, the authority that comes from God for His ministry.  Just as God does not force or compel us to love God, God also does not force faith -- this communion through which we have relationship with God -- upon anyone.  Faith must come from a willing "yes" somewhere within us to God's love and action, to God's mercy and grace.  It simply does not work without our consent.  Sometimes, it seems to me, we are unaware of the depths within our own spirits, which may long for God and God's presence even when our conscious minds would shut God out.  Nonetheless, there are depths to us through which work love and faith, our own ties to the Mystery of God.  See, for example, Jesus' exclamation at the confession of Peter that He is the Christ:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  I would submit that it is doubtful that in Peter's confession of faith, Peter was consciously aware of having had a revelation or communication from the Father; nevertheless Christ tells us that it is so.  Clearly, there was a depth in Peter that responded to God the Father with an affirmative reception to this communication or revelation.  And so it might be with each one of us, where the depths within us accept faith in some mysterious way unknown and misunderstood even by us in a conscious sense.  But nonetheless, our acceptance is there accompanying faith.  So it works with the healing miracles and other signs performed by Christ:  there must be some level of faith present for God's power to be at work, not a challenge for a proof.  As my study Bible points out about this healing of the blind man, even a little faith will do to start.  We could consider it just a crack in the opening of the door at which Christ always knocks ("Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" - Revelation 3:20).  The Holy Spirit can get through our own walls in surprising ways; all it takes is a chink in the armor with which we surround ourselves.  The importance of faith is made very clear in the fact that, as in other circumstances (such as with those who ridicule at the healing of Jairus' daughter -- see Mark 5:40), Jesus seeks to separate the newly-healed man with his restored sight from the townspeople who scoff.  For those of us who come to faith all of these centuries later, these lessons still remain.  Let us not surround ourselves needlessly with people who scoff at our faith, or who would challenge the things we know through some mysterious process at work in our lives.  We are made of much more than simply conscious memory, "facts" at hand, efforts at proofs of things which exist far beyond our capacity to know in some objective or scientifically measured way.  We nonetheless have parts to ourselves with which God may communicate, and we may receive the things of God, knowing their mysterious effect in our lives, the capacity to heal, a guidance we can't explain in a conventional sense.  Let us be aware of how precious that faith really is, and make every effort to protect it just as Jesus does, following His instructions just as He guides the formerly blind.

How is it that you do not understand?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

On Saturday, we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  Now the Pharisees are beginning to actively pursue Christ, seeking to dispute with Him, and asking for a sign from heaven in order to test Him.  My study bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites (see Matthew 16:1-3) have not recognized the signs which are already being performed by Christ, because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  My study Bible explains that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as Jesus uses it in the parable in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as He uses it here.  In either case, leaven is symbolic of a force which is powerful enough (and also often subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

So what is this allusion to a leaven that permeates things, even which may permeate everything?  Here, Jesus is speaking of the hypocrisy and "hard-heartedness" of the Pharisees.  But leaven as metaphor may also be used to understand sin in general, and especially notions of what sin in an environment can do.  If we think of the "first sin" in the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), what we see in this story is a way in which one sin permeates an environment, and creates a changed condition in the ways that they live and the consequences to that environment.  The word often used for this condition in theological terms is "corruption."  It is not a deep, abiding, integral part of human beings who are created by God, and therefore are essentially good.  But it becomes a kind of subtly permeating influence, which can corrupt the good that is there.  As we have observed in recent readings, such as when Jesus spoke of what "evil things" can truly harm a person (see this reading), this understanding of corruption -- that is, of a subtly corrupting influence -- invites us to act with our own agency, to guard ourselves against such influence by guarding our own thoughts and understanding.  In theological terms, this is frequently called "guarding the heart."  We can see the language of the heart used in today's reading, when Jesus asks the disciples, "Is your heart still hardened?"   In Scriptural language and tradition (and therefore the understanding of the Church), the heart is considered an organ of perception and understanding, separate from the intellect.  It is there in the heart where we know Christ, in a very deep place within us which is unfathomable in its depth.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, my study bible notes, the heart is known as the "seat of knowledge."  But a hardened heart is one which is not permeable to the grace and knowledge of God; that is, it is a heart hardened against it.  This hardening of the heart, Jesus implies by His question to the disciples, can happen through influence, through this "leaven of the Pharisees," a way of thinking that shuts down our openness to the ways of God, and therefore to understanding.  A hardened heart is also a metaphor for one that is unsympathetic, not compassionate for others.  In this case in today's reading, this "leaven" is a narrowed way of looking at life, reducing everything down to some formulae, even abstract "rules" which do not allow for the reality which is right in front of us to be perceived by us.  The Pharisees attempt to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, challenging Jesus to perform some spectacular miracle and "prove" that He really is from God, prove that He is the rumored Messiah.  But marvelous signs are happening all throughout His ministry, just as the multiplication of the loaves was twice done by Christ.  The text in today's reading also opens our eyes to the fact that it's not just the Pharisees who don't want to see or can't accept what is right in front of them, the extraordinary nature of what Christ has done.  It's essentially a brilliant way that the story of Christ and His disciples has of illuminating to us that each of us has this potential weakness.  While the Pharisees are in a league of their own, one could say, the disciples are also vulnerable to this way of thinking that has kept them from truly understanding -- to the point where even Jesus marvels.  And if the disciples are vulnerable to it, then so are we.  In modern popular language, we might find this akin to being in denial about something that is plain as day to others.  The Gospels frequently remind us that the disciples weren't perfect -- they grow in their faith and in the grace that also works as a leaven (as in the parable of Matthew 13:33).  Today's reading is a good illustration of the capabilities that we have for choice.  The disciples are those who are with Christ in order to learn from Him, to be like Him, and with whom He shares His power as He appointed them apostles as well, to be sent out into the world.  They will become the foundation of His Church.  The Pharisees are deeply given over to the leaven of hypocrisy; that is a focus on appearance, and hidden flaws which corrupt well-intentioned law and allow for selfish practices.   They zealously guard their positions.  Again, the Gospels give us those Pharisees and members of the ruling Council who are deeply righteous, such as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who become followers of Christ.  Moreover Acts of the Apostles mentions the great teacher Gamaliel and his righteousness (see Acts 5:33-40), who was also mentioned by St. Paul as his teacher (Acts 22:3).  All of this acts together to help us to understand this dividing line between what is nominally good and nominally evil goes through our hearts, and that we have agency -- that is, we have the capacity -- to make choices about the condition of the heart and its receptivity to the things of God.  We are capable of turning this process around, through repentance, or we can choose to be stubbornly or deliberately blind.  We are all on a road somewhere, but remain capable of discernment, as Christ's seemingly incredulous question to the disciples implies:  "How is it that you do not understand?"  

 

 

Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered

 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

- Luke 11:53-12:12

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  Those you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.  And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.  Jesus has just warned the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers about their hypocrisy, and how it masks a lack of mercy and justice.  This is their response to His words -- to seek a way to trap Him in something He might say, so that they might accuse Him. 

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."  The leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy.  The Gospel tells this plainly and clearly and directly, in the words of Jesus we're given.  Why does hypocrisy itself work against our better natures, our better interests?  Because it is a focus on externals, and allows us to be blind to what we really do, our interior and hidden motivations, desires, greed, and forms of selfishness.  Jesus warns that there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Hypocrisy is useless, powerless to give us true understanding or even good character, an inner worth.  Everything is eventually revealed.  This is a flat and powerful statement of truth, a promise from Christ.  It is a warning to all of us.  To live for the opinions of others, to be seen by others, is a trap.

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  My study bible tells us that whom you should fear refers to God (Proverbs 9:10).  One way or another, our bodies will die eventually.  According to St. Ambrose, my study bible notes, states that death of the body is not itself a punishment, but it does mark the end of earthly punishments.  The soul is eternal.  As God is the judge of our soul, our efforts while in this world must be to please God alone.  And clearly Jesus here teaches us the acute awareness, the intimate involvement, in each tiny detail of our lives by God -- so much so, that God's awareness of us is far more acute than we have of ourselves.  Not even one sparrow is forgotten before God; the very hairs of one's head are numbered!  Moreover, within this awareness, to God we are absolutely precious.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.  But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.  Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."  My study bible explains that to say a word against the Son of Man is to reject Jesus as the Messiah.  Jesus seemed to be a mere man to many people before their conversion, it notes.  The scandal which was caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of the Son of God (1 Corinthians 1:23) makes this sin more easily forgiven.  The Holy Spirit, by contrast, is without bodily form and invisibly works divine goodness.  My study bible here cites St. John Chrysostom, as well as many other Church Fathers, who say that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus doesn't call the sin itself "unforgivable."  He makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the work fo the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

Jesus is drawing for His followers at this point clear lines into which things will fall.  He has made such a statement, albeit without the understanding of His words in today's reading, when He told them, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (see Monday's reading).  But when the scribes, lawyers, and Pharisees respond to Him by searching for a way to catch Him in His words in order to make an accusation, the split between the religious establishment and Christ is clear.  Moreover, the religious establishment is backed by the Roman governors (at least at this point), the fearsome state power of Empire that really hasn't ever been equaled in the world since.  When the religious leadership seeks to make an accusation against Jesus, we are aware of the penalties this may carry with it, which will extend to Jesus' followers.  In this context, one hidden gem in Jesus' words today is the absolute faith that He places in His followers.  He doesn't promise them a bed of roses in this world.  Rather, He tells us all, "I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do."  He calls us to fearless witness, to follow Him.  Our fear should be directed to the One whom we always keep in mind in our lives and through all of our choices, God.  This fear is the kind of awe and respect due to our true Father in heaven.  For God in heaven is the One with the absolute power of life and death over our souls, where our true consciousness and life is centered.  Our conscious awareness of the things that guide our lives must be upon the work of God in the world, particularly in the Person of God the Holy Spirit.  Jesus gives us a picture of our worldly lives in which God is active and intertwined, participating with us always.  He even teaches us of God's acute awareness about every part of ourselves, even to the number of the hairs on our heads.  Even the littlest sparrow's fate is something upon which God's awareness is focused.  These are promises that Jesus gives us, and those in state or worldly power -- even religious authorities -- cannot claim the same awareness, power, nor hold upon even our souls.  Whatever it is that takes place in this world, it cannot be of the size and significance in our lives, our souls, our very awareness, of the presence of God to us.  Furthermore, the warnings against hypocrisy simply emphasize this point, that we must take heed where we place all our faith, and particularly who or what we fear most.  This is because hypocrisy places the greatest awareness on the opinions of other people, whom we seek to please with outward works, while we neglect the place where God touches us and communes with us:  the inner life of the soul and what it means to be fully a person.  When we neglect this life where faith is, where our decisions really are, we neglect to place appropriate matters in the hands of God.  We fail to give attention where attention must be paid.  We lose the true meaning and knowledge of who we are, which is only truly found in our communion with God.  That's where life itself is.  Christ teaches us to be wholly reliant upon God, even for the times we respond to grave charges against us.  Let us consider the ways in which the life of God, active and working within us and in our world, intersects with our awareness of who we are and who we have to please in life.  How does that affect your choices and your decisions?  Does it open up places where you need to consider what you choose, what you believe, how you will respond to life in this world?  Think about the courage it invites you to take up in life, which bandwagon it invites you to jump off of.  Our lives are in the hands of God; there is none more powerful nor meaningful, and no one else who can give us life that is eternal, or take it away.