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 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?"

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 

 

 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."   Over the course of the past couple of readings, Jesus has been avoiding His ministry's "home" territory in Galilee.  After having disputed with the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem (see this reading), Jesus withdrew to the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon, where He had His encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman, and then came through the Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee, again avoiding His ministry's home ground.  True to His apparent aim of avoiding the Pharisees for a while (and that they will now be after Him), we see that when He returns to the west side of the Sea of Galilee (as yesterday's reading told us), the Pharisees came out once again and began to dispute with Him.  This time they demand a sign from heaven, testing Him.  This means that what they want to see from Him is some spectacular display of power, in order to prove who He is.  My study bible says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But they fail to recognize the signs that are already being performed by Christ, as their hearts are hardened.  They apparently are ignoring the works which are happening all around them, and of which they no doubt have heard.  When Jesus says that no sign shall be given to this generation, He affirms that His ministry must unfold in a particular way in accordance with God the Father, and not according to the demands of those who seek to test God (see Luke 4:12).

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?"  Once again, after yet another hostile encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus departs with the disciples for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  As they travel across the sea (which is really a very large lake), Jesus has time for this dialogue with the disciples, after they fail to understand His meaning regarding the Pharisees and Herod.  My study bible says 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 in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In either case, my study bible tells us, leaven is a symbol of a force that is powerful enough (and often 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."  Jesus and the disciples come to Bethsaida, once again on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (north of the Decapolis; see this map).  The precise location of Bethsaida remains disputed (it may have been further south), but nevertheless this location seems likely.  What is probably most significant for our understanding is that it is in a region ruled by Philip as opposed to Herod Antipas.  Philip was the brother of Herod, whom Jesus referenced when He told the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," in the verses just prior to this.  My study bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and therefore Jesus leads this blind man out of the town to heal him.  This is so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It explains that the healing of the blind man in stages shows that he had only a small amount of faith, 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.  Jesus' command that he not return to the town, my study bible explains, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.  Possibly it also suggests to us that we must do everything we can to shore up our faith, even leaving behind those who might tear it down.

Today's reading is all about faith, giving us various aspects of what it means to be faithful and what it is to be faithless.  In some sense, each story illustrates the question of degrees of faith.  Taken together, they tell us something important about how faith works in us -- or not, as the case might be.  First there are the Pharisees, who, despite the fact that they even know that Jesus is on the map, so to speak, because of the signs that have accompanied His ministry, demand a sign of proof that what He does is of God, and that His identity is somehow linked to the divine.  They have already begun to criticize Him and demand that He answer their queries (in this earlier reading), and Jesus tussled with them, so to speak, quite clearly.  When Jesus is questioned, He doesn't mince words; He tells the truth forcefully, even truths that they don't want to hear.  But then, we must note, Jesus has withdrawn for a time, away from the reach of the Pharisees, carrying His ministry elsewhere.  Their demand, presented to Him once more as He returns to the familiar ground in Galilee, is now that He prove Himself to them, which He will not do.  There is a particular and specific way in which His ministry must unfold.  It is dependent upon God, and not the inquisitive demands of the Pharisees, nor their particular brand of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness.  In their demand is couched the refusal to perceive what is already happening before them.  Then we come to the disciples, who themselves also show evidence of hard-heartedness, or failure to comprehend the things of God, even in which they directly participate!  Rather than understanding Jesus' remark to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod -- which clearly refers to the demands for proofs rather than an acceptance of this ministry as it is, the disciples think He's talking about their lack of bread!  Let us note Jesus' very human reply.  He seems to be both baffled and exasperated when He asks how they can possibly have forgotten that He has produced bread in the wilderness for thousands of people on two occasions.  How can they think that He is now complaining that they have forgotten to bring bread with them?  Their own lack of comprehension is a signal to us that even with the best of intentions, there will be things that are "hard to hear" and which we may very well choose not to.  Perhaps their innate fear of conflict with the authorities is on display here, and we surely know their terror at the Cross to come.  Often, we might find in our life of faith, there are hard truths we have to hear and accept, and hard facts of life that come in response, including a separation from those whom we love or changing our perspective on institutions we cherish or value in high regard.  Our faith does not shy us away from these difficulties, but rather teaches us about them.  Forbearance and courage, with a mind in the present time, and acceptance even of the evil things we might see, are part of that journey.  Finally there is the blind man in Bethsaida.  In some way, Bethsaida was a place that remained a great crossroads of civilization.  Although its roots were very ancient, it also seems to have become an important Roman city during the lifetime of Jesus.  Coming after the feeding of the four thousand, and midst Jesus' repeated crossings of the Sea of Galilee, we can, in some sense see this blind man as one drawn out of the world by faith.  The people of Bethsaida are skeptical of Christ, and in order to heal this man's blindness, He must not simply be drawn out of the town, but also is commanded to remain outside of the town and not to return.  Blindness and the restoration of sight have been used so frequently as symbols regarding faith that we are already quite familiar with this metaphor.  Jesus' illumination of his sight is at the same time an illumination of his soul, an opening up of his eyes to the reality of Christ.  Taking in the whole of today's reading, putting together the problems that the Pharisees now present to Jesus, the difficulties with which the disciples themselves come to grips with the realities their faith is asking them to perceive, and the need for this blind man of Bethsaida to take himself out of the town and away from what he knows and calls home, all conspire in a sense, to tell us of an impending grasp of faith on a new basis.  Faith in Christ is no longer simply a matter of tribe or ethnos, of city or state or institution, but a matter that will draw us out of the world and into a place where we can take up our own cross, and follow Him.  This may happen in a plethora of ways too great to number or even to limit.  But it nevertheless makes it clear that we will be called out of complacency, and called to see and hear where we don't want to see and hear.  The virtues of courage, steadfastness, perseverance, and alacrity, as well as patience and forbearance for whatever our circumstances are and how our faith asks us to respond to them, all come into play -- and this in turn tells us about the elevation of human beings.  We are called to an identity that isn't simply one of a group that commands loyalty, to being one who hears Christ and follows.  It goes to the true state of freedom of the heart, the call of God, and the real power of faith to transform and to heal, even as we're drawn out of what is already familiar.  In the midst of the way to restoration of his sight, the blind man says, "I see men like trees, walking."  We ourselves may be like this image of human beings as stick figures, partially-complete persons.  But Christ brings us into the fullness of who we are, and what we are capable of becoming.

Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod

 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?"

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 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."  My study bible tells us that a sign from heaven indicates a spectacular display of power, some overwhelming "proof" of Christ's divine identity.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, the but these men are hypocrites, who have not recognized the signs which have already been performed because their hearts were hardened.  They ignored the works which were already happening all around them.  Christ seeks faith, not hardened hearts which demand to be convinced against their own willful denial.

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 tells us that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12), and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, my study bible reminds us, "leaven" is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33), and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven is a symbol of a force which is powerful enough (and frequently subtle enough as well) to permeate and to affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  Let us note also that even the the disciples are susceptible to a lack of understanding, and possibly to the "leaven of the Pharisees."

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 says that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and so, therefore, Jesus leads the blind man out of the town in order to heal him -- so that the people would not scoff at the miracle, and in so doing, bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It is very interesting that the text tells us the blind man was healed in stages.  My study bible says this indicates that the man  had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith (6:5-6).  But even this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  My study bible adds that Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.

Faith:  how do we think about faith today?  Over the course of the past several days and weeks, the world has watched a pandemic unfold.  We have various ways in which we can approach it, measures we can take, means to combat the virus.  And, of course, there are terrible and sad calculations of harm, loss, suffering, and death which have already resulted.  But let us for today consider the impact of our faith throughout this period.  First of all, it is the time of Lent, and Lent is always and at once a time of internal emphasis, a time of withdrawal for prayer and contemplation, but cutting back on the things which take up our time and energy and interest in order to focus more fully on the things of God.  It is a time for consideration of our own behaviors:  what we can do better, how we can more potently develop our own discipline and discernment.  It is a time to consider what our responsibility is in terms of our own behavior, and how we can improve.  This is also called repentance, for repentance indicates simply change, and change for the better.  It is a time to consider how we might shape up, and put into action the things to which we're called by God, and within the space of dialogue in our prayer time, both in corporate worship (such as it is in these days, possibly virtually and online) and in the private place where our Father in the secret place sees in secret (Matthew 6:6).  It is a time for the cultivation of both prudence and discernment.  It is a time when we watch what we say, what we watch, and the things to which we're willing to pay attention.  Most of all, we must try to cultivate our faith, if we pay any attention at all to the things discussed and which Jesus' actions and words teach in today's reading.  For today is a reading that particularly emphasizes the connection between the existence of our faith (and its quality), and the positive outcomes that we so desire.  For those without faith, life looks increasingly dire.  Material outcomes are always dismaying.  Potentials which are contained in what remains possible are highly likely to be distorted to the point of non-existence.  Hope is not something which a lack of faith puts much stock in.  And where is God's love and guidance to be found except in faith?  It is faith that encourages us to always keep trying, through all things, to not give up hope, to seek God's positive will and possibilities even in the midst of what is bleak, and to carry on with our proper discipline even when others seem to discourage all possible hope.  For our Lenten practices, let us be even more diligent in putting into place our discipline at this time, especially that of regular prayer.  St. John Chrysostom, in his famous Homilies on the Statues, given in a period of Lent in the fifth century, reminds us that at this time we fast from all kinds of things, and not simply food.  We fast from all the things that are unhelpful to faith and therefore to our mental discipline and courage at this time.  He said, "For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies."  He meant that we fast from envy, from spreading gossip, from going places where we should not be going, from grasping and avarice, and all the things we need to put a watch on for ourselves.  At this time, let us consider that, in addition to gossip, we should fast from dire prediction of woe or the fainthearted feeling that this will not pass.  Already there is good news in many places of the rates of epidemic infection dying down, new hospitalizations reduced, and possible helpful drugs tested.  Above all, let us remember that in our reading today, not even Jesus could do any good work where there was not faith present.  Even Christ takes away the blind man from the town in order to shore up the faith necessary for his healing.  Let us remember, perhaps especially, His warning to the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.  This is the leaven that demands proof for faith, that demands to be convinced even as it offers endless rejections.   This is the leaven of the hard-heartedness that does not rejoice at healing, at possibilities for well-being, and quite possibly seeks failure in order to defeat hope and enact secret agendas that benefit from calamity.  Let us not, also, harden our hearts.  Let us pay attention and be vigilant!

Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod

 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 at this point in Jesus' ministry, in the region of the Decapolis near the Sea of Galilee, 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 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 would be some sort of spectacular display of power, designed as "proof" of Christ's messianic identity.  My study bible tells us that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But Christ, of course, has already displayed many signs in the course of His ministry.  What this is, of course, is a proof test, designed by the Pharisees in order to test Jesus -- rather than their acceptance of His ministry as it unfolds in accordance with the will of the Father.  It's a question of whose authority Jesus will follow.

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?"  The leaven of the Pharisees, says my study bible, is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  The image of leaven is used both positively and negatively in Scripture.  Here, it's a negative.   We should think of a type of enzymatic action, that changes whatever substance it becomes a part of.  My study bible says that leaven symbolizes a force powerful enough (and often subtle enough) to permeate everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  A hardened heart, we remember, is one that cannot understand, does not grasp what it should.

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."  Jesus has made a kind of ring around the Sea of Galilee, not returning  to Capernaum (where Peter has a family home which functions as a kind of headquarters to Jesus' ministry), but landed further east, on the northern shore of the Sea.   Bethsaida is mentioned by Christ as a place where people did not believe in Him (Matthew 11:21).  Jesus therefore leads this man out of the town to heal him, so that people won't scoff at the miracle -- and, my study bible says, bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  The healing of this blind man in stages, it says, shows that he had only a small amount of faith -- healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and increased with Christ's touch.   My study bible also tells us that Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we mustn't return to our sins once we've been forgiven. 

Today's reading teaches us all about faith and comprehension.  The two are definitely intertwined as the Gospels present it to us.  The Pharisees don't understand who Christ is, but more importantly, they seek to impose a test as if their authority is what is absolute, over all things, even the works of God.  Moreover, their failure to find faith -- despite the many signs already worked in Christ's ministry -- and their demand for proof reflect on their inability to comprehend with the heart.  This is "hard-heartedness" in Scriptural language.  It is the failure to grasp the things of God, the work of the Spirit in the world.  Faith, like love, is voluntary, and cannot be compelled.  The works of "proof" have nothing to do with Christ nor the ministry in which the Father leads Him.  It's not just the Pharisees who are hard-hearted in today's reading, and hard of comprehension, it's also the disciples.  Jesus teaches them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.  That's an interesting phrase, because we know that when Jesus appears before Herod (during His Passion), Herod will also demand a sign.  (See also this reading and commentary on the death of John the Baptist for Herod's attitude toward John's holiness).  Herod's desire to see a sign is more akin to a kind of fascination with some object or marvel a king might collect, and so we can see parallels in the views of the Pharisees and Herod: they're not reverent in the heart.  In both views, the approach to God and the things that are holy is a kind of materialistic approach, one that turns God into an object rather than a Person, that does not grasp the energies of God at work in the world.  Perception for faith demands something different, a way to grasp that which lives and is life itself.  This pernicious leaven, as described by Jesus, is a way of looking at things that objectifies what should not be reduced to mere object, and fails to perceive in either a humane, judicious, or sympathetic way that which gives life the quality of blessedness, holiness, or mercy.  Above all, it seems to fail to grasp love.  "Prove it," in modern parlance, is often a way simply to reduce another person to nothing.  In Bethsaida, we're once again given an object lesson in the importance of faith and our own steps to shore up our faith.  On the "little" faith of the blind man, Jesus can begin a healing -- but like Jairus and his wife at the time of the healing of his daughter -- he must be set apart from those who don't believe, who may damage his faith, in order to find effective healing and to retain that strength and faith to stay on the path of the righteousness to which Christ has called him.  Altogether, the stories in today's reading re-enforce the crucial importance that the care of our faith has to do with nurturing the most central essence of our identity as persons, and how that becomes part of the fabric of our lives.  In today's reading, we're given a portrait of that which harms faith and also the significant deficits that the influence of harmful attitudes can create for us as obstacles to our own fullness and wholeness as persons.  What is the fullness of your life and experience of life worth to you?   How are you called to find the deeper things within yourself as human being, that which draws you into an expanded understanding of what it is to be a full "person"?  These are the questions our reading opens up for us, as it calls us to guard and protect the heart, and enter into this Kingdom as whole beings through Christ's work of salvation.  Most of all, it asks us to begin to understand God as the Being that works among us, whose energies permeate our own lives within the purview of our choice.  And He asks us ever more strongly to make certain we understand the role of our choice in strengthening and protecting that faith and growth and participation in His Kingdom.  If we are truly children of God, it is God's work as love that makes us so, and grows us in that likeness as persons.  Without an experiential faith, how does this grow?

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 o 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 they 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

In yesterday's reading, we read about a second feeding in the wilderness of great crowds by Jesus.  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."  Once again, Mark's gospel makes us aware that the religious leadership is also aware of Jesus and His ministry, but they are looking for ways to accuse Him.  Already they have asked why His disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders, and received a deep criticism and accusation of hypocrisy from Jesus in His teaching to them about the laws of God and the laws of men.  He accused them of being worthy of the words of the prophet Isaiah.  Here those in leadership seek a sign, a proof from Jesus of the identity they can clearly discern in His ministry and popularity.  My study bible tells us:  "A sign from heaven is an indisputable, spectacular act, the kind Jesus rejected in His temptations [Matt. 4:6,7, Luke 4:9].   Jesus has given countless signs by this time:  causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the dead to rise.  But these are not good enough for the Pharisees.  Jesus sighed deeply, for they seek a sign out of hardness of heart, daring Jesus to force them to faith."

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."  Now we are on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, not far from Bethsaida, says my study bible.  All along Mark's gospel Jesus has been traveling back and forth across this sea, and some powerful incidents have occurred in this place on the sea.  Jesus has been going back and forth, across and up and down, to different regions consisting of different populations, some Gentile, others native Jewish territory and headquarters for His ministry, some mixed regions such as the Decapolis.  My study bible says about Jesus' words here:  "Leaven is frequently (but not always) a negative image in Scripture, symbolizing evil.  Here it represents the erroneous understanding and evil intent of the Pharisees and Herod Antipas.  Though they completely misunderstand the revelation of God in Christ, the Pharisees influence the people.  Their teaching is like leaven; it permeates the whole.  Their blatant legalism and hypocritical actions damage those who listen to them."

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 o 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 notes here:  "Jesus is concerned about His disciples.  Men who do not yet understand the Lord's provision for them in the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand are men whose hearts are still hardened.  Discipleship without an understanding of Christ is unthinkable."  What I find remarkable about this passage is first of all its humor:  the disciples mix up His reference to the "leaven of the Pharisees" with an anger that they forgot to bring bread!  It teaches us something about ourselves.  How is it that the Pharisees are faulted for failing to understand, yet also we find the disciples don't understand as well, and Jesus says their hearts are hardened?  There is a depth to faith that perhaps we can't touch the roots of; this is a place in us that God understands and requires God's discernment and judgment.  Although they are not perfect, they are the ones He has chosen to carry His message, and enlightenment will come to them.  It teaches us about ourselves and our own faith.  What He criticizes in the leadership is their hypocrisy.

Then they 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 says here:  "Jesus leads the man out of the town, to a private place once again, for another special healing.  [See the healing of the deaf and mute man in Monday's reading.]  This man is healed in stages, just as our ability to know God grows gradually.  Again, He wishes His messianic secret not to be revealed)."

Today we learn about "learning" and about "understanding."  Why are the Pharisees and Herod criticized for their "leaven" or seeking a sign to convince them about Jesus when His own disciples do not understand Him, misunderstand His words, and cannot even remember the spectacular works of feeding thousands in the wilderness?  It is a kind of paradox that is posed in the Gospels, but one that captures our attention and asks us to think about it.  As followers of Christ, we liken ourselves to the disciples, we like to think of ourselves as disciples.  So what is this difference between those who seek a sign and the ones who've witnessed but still don't understand?  I can think of a few differences for myself.  First of all the Pharisees are those trained in Scripture; they are aware, as the disciples who are mostly unlearned men are not, of the things that Jesus does that are reflected in Scripture and in prophecy.  Feeding thousands in the wilderness is an answer to a question posed in Scripture and quoted in my study bible in yesterday's commentary.  The disciples asked, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  Psalm 78, recounting the experience of Israel, the people of God, asks, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?"   The experts in Scripture, the Pharisees, have a particular responsibility for what they know, and yet they are criticized deeply by Jesus for their hypocrisy, and here in their demand for a sign.  This Messiah will spread His ministry in the way that He is called to by the Father, not by those who tempt Him to give them proofs, a sign.  Faith works differently, and it is there we go for the difference.  Although Jesus criticizes His disciples for failing to understand that which has been obviously revealed to them, and He asks about their hardened hearts which do not open the capacity for understanding, He knows them better than they know themselves.  He is aware of the depth of the place from which real faith comes, the place where "His sheep hear His voice."  It is this place in us that responds to His ministry, whether it be then at the time of His Incarnation or now, and that is the place He knows better than we do.  I can't trace the depth of faith in myself nor where it comes from; I only know it is there, a kind of love that abides and grows.  So what is the difference between faith that isn't perfect in its understanding, and seeking a sign?  The analogy is right here in today's reading, given to us by Mark, as pointed out in the notes of my study bible.  The formerly blind man says, "I see men like trees, walking."  This puts me in mind of the stick figures that children draw before they become more aware of form and figure and shape, and capable of drawing in more sophisticated ways.  So we are like children, and we grow in understanding in our faith.  In the miracles of healing of sight in today's reading, and hearing in a previous reading, we see some similarities.  Jesus takes both apart, and both are touched by Him in ways and for reasons we perhaps can't understand.  But it is the connection of faith we see in that touch, that comes in private and in the heart, to open our eyes and ears of spiritual understanding and power.  The leaven He warns us about demands visible proofs and signs.  Where is the understanding of your heart in the place of love and recognition of His voice?