For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him

 

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.' 

 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

- Matthew 13:10–17 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we were given a new turn in Christ's ministry.  We read that on the same day following a dispute with the Pharisees and scribes (and their demand for a sign from Him), Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears, let him hear!" 

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible comments that the mysteries of the kingdom are not simply obscure concepts, or some religious truths meant only for the elite.  Neither is the understanding of the parables a purely intellectual process.  Even the disciples find the message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, my study Bible comments, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

 

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.' "  Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study Bible comments that this prophesy of Isaiah, according to St. John Chrysostom, does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  It's a figure of speech common to Scripture which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).   It's understood from this passage that God permits their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  Spiritual blindness is not the result of God speaking through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness. 

 

  "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Here He is speaking directly to His disciples, those who have chosen to follow Him, responding to the truths they perceive in His ministry, and His presence of holiness that is undeniable to them (John 6:68).

 

 Jesus has suddenly begun an unusual practice (for Him) which the disciples have never seen Him do before:  He begins to speak to the crowds ("great multitudes") in parables (see yesterday's reading, above).  His disciples are puzzled, and they come to ask Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  Jesus answered, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." This is an intriguing answer.  Somehow Jesus seems to be saying to them that somehow it has been given to them by God that they should have the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven revealed to them, but not to the crowds in front of whom Christ now speaks in parables.  Parables sound like simple stories, and indeed they are, but to understand and to have insights about the spiritual journey and the reality of the kingdom of heaven, one would have to have some sort of experience of this to relate to the parable.  One would have to know something about the journey of spiritual truth, of growing closer to God and growing in participation in those mysteries in one's life.  But what is the point of speaking to the great crowds in parables?  Jesus tells the disciples, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   We take this together with the words from Isaiah Jesus goes on to quote, and we discover a fact about the spiritual life, which Jesus states here unequivocally.  We're either going to grow in this life, or we won't.  This is a reflection of the common theme, sometimes called "the two ways" in Scripture.  It's also referred to as the "way of life and the way of death" (Jeremiah 21:8).  These "two ways" were also described in the earliest teaching document known to the Church, considered to be the teachings of the apostles, called the Didache ("The Teaching").  Jesus Himself described these two ways when He taught (in the Sermon on the Mount), "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).  But here in today's reading, He seems to teach us that there are some for whom these mysteries of the kingdom of God are accessible; perhaps they have a function in their inner life of being perceptive to them, and they will find them in Christ's parables, and be drawn to Him.  But, He also states, there are those who simply don't, and will not seek to have this abundance, as He puts it.  One presumes that this capacity is linked also to the capacity for repentance, for access to this Kingdom and its mysteries surely confers ways in which we change and adapt as we participate in this understanding, and grow more deeply into it.  Let us consider the reality of the presence of this Kingdom among us, and in our world, brought to us by Christ -- and how we will pursue it.  Our prayers are those that seek this participation and growth in the life of the Kingdom, for without it, what else is the point of His preaching to us in His parables of the kingdom of God?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 

 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, 

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

- Matthew 13:10-17 

 

Yesterday we read that on the same day on which Jesus' mother and brothers came seeking to see Him, He went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

  And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible comments that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts, or some religious truths for only the elite, nor is the understanding of the parables simply an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find this message hard to understand.  Even though Jesus taught the same message to all, my study Bible says, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:   'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"   In John's Gospel, Jesus uses this same quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10 in speaking to those who have rejected faith in Him despite His many signs (see John 12:37-43).  In either case, we should turn to the understanding of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Isaiah's prophecy does not mean God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  Rather, this is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, revealing God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).   God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke as he foresaw their blindness.  

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  The prophets and righteous men of the past desired to see the day of Christ, and did not see it, and to hear His word but did not hear it.

Jesus quotes from Isaiah, who says, "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  This prophecy, as quoted by Jesus, really prompts us to ask the question, "What does it mean to be healed?"  It's very important that we understand healing in this context of spiritual guidance and perception.  Jesus has already suggested that one name for Himself is Physician, as in His response to the Pharisees who criticized Him for eating and dining with tax collectors and others who were understood to be sinners.  He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (see this reading).  Clearly it is spiritual ailments to which He's referring.  In this context, since all of us are deficient in some sense, each one of us has healing that we need.  That is, we might sin, knowingly and unknowingly, but even in terms of understanding sin, we "miss the mark" we're capable of making.  "Missing the mark" is the true literal meaning of the word for sin in the Greek.  It comes from the notion of hitting a target.   It indicates what we could do better; that of which we are capable but don't quite come up to a standard.  But what is most important is that we understand Jesus' language of caring for a person, of both healing and being a Physician.  For while we might understand perfectly well what physical ailments are, and even psychological ailments, we don't necessarily conceive of spiritual ailments as this language asks us to do.  In this context, and in the words of Isaiah, our own blindness and deafness leaves us blind and deaf to the things we need that we don't perceive, to the things we need for healing, to our own ailments and illnesses in some sense.  While we might understand a failure to function physically or mentally in a healthy way by a set of community standards, the text makes it clear that spiritual ailments may be those things we fail to detect or understand in ourselves.  One example of  a spiritual ailment might be extreme selfishness, or possibly a great lust or covetousness.  These things do lead to disorders in the society, but are clearly often characterized by a kind of blindness to what could be, a deafness to that which would create better relatedness in community and peace within ourselves.  Jesus embodies also for us a love and mercy that gives us a standard -- and in this sense also offers healing, but our eyes and ears need to be opened to this.  The spiritually deaf and blind may find it perfectly acceptable to practice hypocrisy and hidden vice which harms and hurts both themselves and others, and fail to find God's way for their own healing in this respect.  What is clear is that through the parables, Jesus begins to ask His listeners whether or not they truly want what He's offering.  As human beings, we're given a sense that it is really up to us to desire what He has, and deeply and earnestly seek it.  Otherwise our lives, as St. Chrysostom comments, are left to our own devices, and the messes and brokenness we create as a result become a part of a fabric of our own legacies and the lives around us.  There is a clear understanding here that we are capable of hearing, seeing, and seeking what He offers, but there must be a desire in our hearts to do so.  As we discussed in yesterday's reading, it's simply false to assume that what we are is written in stone, so to speak, static and unchanging or incapable of change.  That is a spiritual falsehood, and He calls us to truth, to growth, to fruitfulness.  That is what it means to be healed.  Physical ailments or harm, and emotional and mental hardships, quite clearly contribute to the challenges we have in our lives.  But a great deal of healing from either one may also be spiritual in nature, with God's help putting our lives and even tragedies and brokenness in perspective, even and possibly most especially creating new life where we might find limitation.  Healing, in Christ's language, is an ongoing process and encompasses all of ourselves and our lives, for His is the deepest and truest response to all that ails us. 

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand

Prophet Isaiah.  Copy of 14th cent. icon, Monastery of Dionysiou,  Mt Athos.  The scroll he is holding is open to Isaiah 6:1

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

- Matthew 13:10-17

Yesterday we read that on the same day that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (after He was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons - see readings beginning on Friday), He went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."  My study bible explains that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts or some religious truths that exist only for the elite.  Neither is the understanding of these parable a purely intellectual process.  As we can read, even the disciples find the message obscure and hard to understand.  Jesus taught the same message to all, my study bible says, but it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  Here, Jesus clearly indicates a kind of process ongoing, where those who are open to receive the treasures in His word are on a kind of journey where they will receive more.  But those whose hearts and minds are not open to the spiritual message of the Kingdom will be depleted of such treasure.

"And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"   Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who reflects that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise be faithful.  This is a familiar type of speech in Scripture which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  As the heart is far from God, God permits a self-chosen deafness and blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Once again, Jesus emphasizes the blessedness of those for whom the realities of the spiritual life He offers are present and perceived.  He contrasts those disciples drawn to what He offers with the many prophets and righteous men who desired the same -- and neither saw nor heard what they do.

Throughout Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has couched His ministry in terms of healing.  His mighty "great works" done in various cities have been, for the most part, works of healing.  That would include physical healing as well as exorcisms, the casting out of demons causing affliction of various sorts.  He explicitly called Himself a Physician when referring to the spiritual ailments of sin, when He was criticized by the Pharisees for associating with tax collectors, notorious and scandalous for the Jews.  At that time Jesus said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13; see this reading).   Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6, also a passage related to the themes in today's readings, as the full passage reads: "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  In today's reading from Matthew, Jesus connects this mysterious knowledge of God with healing, through the words of the Prophet Isaiah.   Jesus explains to His disciples His reason for speaking in parables, through the prophecy of Isaiah.  As the hearts of many are far away from God, so they will be left to their spiritual blindness and deafness, and therefore they will not be healed.  What He offers -- these mysteries and blessings of which Jesus speaks in today's reading -- is a healing balm of grace for all.  Spiritual suffering, this deafness and blindness, is something very real, something acute.  It is a spiritual ailment and depletion of what the soul needs.  Jesus speaks the words of the prophecy of Isaiah, which only serve to emphasize and frame His ministry within this paradigm or image of healing, with Christ as Physician.  Hosea's "knowledge of God" becomes Christ's words to His disciples regarding the mysteries and blessings of the kingdom of heaven, which are also couched in the Beatitudes of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  These mysteries and blessings are the very things for an ailing humanity.  They are the medicine that we need, and the Church herself must serve as hospital.  But there is a very important lesson here that must not be lost on any of us.  Those who truly don't desire this healing, whose spiritual eyes and ears are closed off through a "hardness of heart" which does not want to hear and see, are left to such a choice.   Christ speaks in parables in a sense similar to the understanding that God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (5:45).  While the explanation in private to His disciples is for those who have a true desire to understand, the parables nevertheless are given to all, so that this ministry is open to anyone who truly desires what God -- through Christ the Son Incarnate -- has to offer to a world deeply in need of healing on all levels.  So how about your spiritual eyes and ears?   What healing do you need today?  Is there a mystery, a blessing of God that you need to heal you spiritually, that your soul needs to know?  Seek it in prayer, read the Scripture, find those who offer sustenance and who also seek what you know is treasure.  Let us be truly grateful, even if the whole world does not care for what there is on offer.  The one who needs healing remains blessed simply to be aware of their true need.