Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up and it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.   And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.'"

 

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 

- Mark 4:1–20 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus and the disciples went into a house, the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up and it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Today's reading marks another turning point in Christ's public ministry.  On Monday, we read that Jesus appointed twelve of His disciples to be with Him and also to be sent out on apostolic missions.  This marked a turning point in the sense that Christ's ministry has expanded so that people come from the Jewish populations all around the different nearby regions to hear Him, including the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  Here the multitudes have grown so that now Jesus begins teaching in parables.  His words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" echoes Old Testament Scripture, particularly the prophets (see, for example, Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Deuteronomy 29:4).  These words, and the nature of the parables, let us know that Christ is looking for those who will come to Him by faith, and not simply by the impression of His miraculous signs and healings.  Jesus' question suggests we need spiritual eyes and ears to sense the truth in His parables.

 

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.   And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"  My study Bible comments that parables are stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  The images in the parables are drawn from daily life common to people at that time (and still today) in order to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  My study Bible adds that parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  So, Christ's statement here, that "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" might also be translated as saying ". . . all things come in riddles." Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this quotation does not mean that God has blinded people or made them deaf to spiritual perception, but that God permits people their self-chosen blindness, and gives people up to their own devices (Romans 1:24, 26).  

 

 And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  My study Bible comments that in this parable, the Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower, who was foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

If we look at the details of this simple parable, as explained by Jesus, we find touching and gentle language that is nevertheless right on target in terms of the images Jesus gives us.  He gives us images of the word as seed, snatched by the wayside from the hearts of those who can't retain it, as if Satan is a great black bird that takes up the seeds of help from hapless human beings.   These are those off the path needed for Christ.  Then there is the image of stony ground, which immediately gives us a sense of the difficulties of planting, tilling the soil and working it, finding good ground.  It gives us a sense of that which is hard, and resists the word taking root.  It echoes Christ's repeated words teaching us about "hard heartedness" -- a failure to repent or to open one's heart to truth, a stubborn desire to remain untouched by Christ's words.  Tribulation or persecution will deter any such root from taking place, for then love and commitment are asked for, a sacrifice is asked for, and hard-heartedness does not practice love and often remains simply self-interested.  Then there are the seeds sown among thorns.  How menacing is the idea of thorns and their painful effects; indeed it echoes the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus' head at His Crucifixion.  Jesus speaks of things we are all-too-familiar with in the modern world, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.  These simple words speak of the temptations that are all around us, the need to keep up with "the neighbors" or our social status we seek, the things everybody else seems to be chasing or already have gotten for themselves, and the riches that don't fulfill us but which we find ourselves chasing anyway -- deceiving us into thinking they can fix all problems.  The constant desire for things we don't have is continually stoked through social media and advertising of many kinds; human beings seem to have a constant eye upon what they don't have, or what others have and we decide that we perhaps should want.  There is a social effect termed "mimetic rivalry" that is based on the desire to attain what others seem to have, which may develop from an inspiration to become like them (to mimic them in this sense), but culminate simply in a desire to replace and topple them in one form or another.  This type of social competition can indeed act like thorns that choke out every other priority, subsuming love and loyalty, and most certainly the desire to please God by loving neighbor as oneself.  Indeed, in Jesus' parable, they choke out the very word of God itself.  These vivid images tell us about life.  They may be simple, but they are touching, and deeply meaningful and "on point" for anyone who has experienced all of these things in their own lives.  There is a reason why Christ's words come back and hit so deeply upon anyone who has tried and failed to find satisfaction in a world where "deceit of riches" can let us down, or we can lose ourselves in chasing goals and dreams that really aren't what we truly, deeply need.  Jesus' words remain vivid in impact and meaning.  They hit home, so to speak, and find us where we truly live when we get serious about finding a better path in life.  Repentance becomes a powerful experience perhaps because there are times when we most bitterly feel and come to know the aptness of Christ's descriptions of the things that inhibit the productivity of the word within us.  When we truly seek to cultivate His path, we may come to realize the joy of the productivity He names, perhaps thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh . Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  

 

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

- Matthew 19:1-12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Jesus gave a formula for mutual correction in the Church, Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'   So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  My study Bible explains that the basis of the Pharisees' test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1; 2.  With authority, my study Bible teaches, Christ adds His own clear prohibition against divorce here ("So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate . . . And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery").  Regarding Christ's last statement here, my study Bible also notes that the permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church.  These included threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, in all cases acknowledging the spiritual tragedy of such a situation.  In each of these cases for divorce, it's made clear that marriage can be destroyed by sin.  

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ is steering the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity.  This comes not as a rejection of marriage but rather as a special calling for some -- to whom it has been given. Eunuchs were common in the ancient world; they were men who had been castrated -- either by birth defect, disease, or mutilation -- and were frequently employed to guard women of nobility.  Here Jesus is using this term figuratively to indicate those who freely choose lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  This consecrated virginity, my study Bible adds, is not to be confused with self-mutilation, which the Church condemned at the First Ecumenical Council (AD 325).  See also 1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38 for St. Paul's considerations on this subject.

 

 It seems quite important to understand that when Christ speaks of eunuchs, He does not speak of celibacy for its own sake, for we notice He contrasts "eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men," and "eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake."  It seems quite noticeable that the difference between the two is dedication and purpose: for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  That this discussion (and a type of introduction of monasticism) comes at the end of a discussion about marriage as a holy and sacramental institution is no seeming accident, and gives us pause to consider celibacy in this light.  For celibacy as a matter of purpose and dedication is what Christ is talking about.  Just as celibacy is expected and understood outside of marriage for a married person, so a person (such as a monastic) is dedicated to their purpose of serving the kingdom of heaven with fidelity.  We could say then, that such a type of celibacy indicates a marriage to God and to God's kingdom as the primary bond in life, as husbands and wives are united to one another.  But marriage itself comes under the same bond in this sense, when we are speaking of marriage within the Church and as part of a holy sacrament.  For Jesus puts it in these terms, making it clear that this union is something that God has put together:  As with other teachings He gives, Jesus begins with the Old Testament, quoting from Genesis 2:24:  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  But adds His own strong prohibition against the breaking of this sacred bond, and making it clear that it is God who creates that bond, not man and wife alone and of themselves:  "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."   So two people joined together by God echo the joining of an individual to the kingdom of heaven by God.  Just as eunuchs in historical times served their purposes of guarding palaces, and in particular the women who were a part of royal life, those who would be wives and mothers of dynasties, so the "eunuch" who serves the kingdom of God does so to serve and to protect it, building up through prayer strength, protection, and the spiritual walls of God's kingdom here on earth.  Celibacy plays a role in devotion and dedication, just as fidelity is important in a marriage (and we note that Jesus makes an exception for sexual immorality in the case of divorce).  We can see by their reactions just how astonishing an idea this is for the disciples, that marriage should carry with it the kind of dedication Christ is speaking of here.  But it is in emphasizing that kind of fidelity and chastity that Christ introduces the concept of celibacy for the sake of serving the kingdom of heaven, and so this level of dedication becomes a keystone of the Church through His teaching and even through His view on marriage itself.  There is a sense of commitment that runs more deeply below the usual sense of autonomy in a modern world, a bond that we can assume from Christ's words that only God can create.  Let us consider what it is to build a consecrated life; that is one lived for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  We could consider the prophets of the Old Testament as those who lived this commitment, and John the Baptist most deeply illustrating such a life, for he is the one in whose image the monastic life of the Church was inspired and built.  The holy institution of marriage is sanctified through the Church as one of its mysteries, Christ's first sign in St. John's Gospel being that which took place at a wedding, the water turned to wine of covenant and sacred bond, the beginning of Christ's ministry, so fruitfully brought about at the word and perhaps inspiration of His mother the Theotokos.  In these stories we find bond, commitment, mystery, sacred covenant, and the deep faith that goes into a life of service for the kingdom of heaven.  Let us consider our lives and the covenants that build faith, a deep trust, a way to find who we are through the mysteries of Christ and the consecration He makes possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  

 

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." 

 

- Matthew 19:1-12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Jesus had given a formula for mutual correction and reconciliation in the Church, Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." My study Bible explains that the basis of the test by these Pharisees is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, my study Bible says, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.  With authority, Christ adds His own prohibition against divorce ("So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate"; "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery").  Additionally, my study Bible remarks that the permissible reasons for divorce in the ancient Church were expanded to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion.  Clearly, although the original intent of marriage as eternal remains, and is therefore a sacrament in the Church, the marriage bond is one that can be destroyed by sin.  In all cases, however, the spiritual tragedy of such a situation must be acknowledged.  

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  My study Bible comments here that Christ steers the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity, not as a rejection of marriage, but rather as a special calling for those to whom it has been given.  Eunuchs were men who had been castrated, whether by birth defect, disease, or mutilation, and were often employed to guard women of nobility.  Indeed, in empires of the past, eunuchs employed as such a class grew to wield great power.  But Jesus uses this term figuratively for those who freely choose lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, devoting themselves to the love of God.  This is a consecrated virginity which isn't to be confused with any form of self-mutilation, which was condemned by the Church at the First Ecumenical Council (AD 325). 

 

What is the value of marriage?   In terms of the Scriptures, the very first relationship established in the Bible between human beings is that of marriage.  It comes second only to the relationship between God and human beings and other creatures.  We should remember that marriage in a Biblical context is a relationship that is mediated by God (hence it is a sacrament in the Church).  It is not simply a union between human beings alone.  In Malachi 2:13-16, the prophet reports that God laments over the abandonment or forsaking of wives; God holds the husband accountable.  My study Bible comments on that passage that, among other things, it shows that marriage brings companionship; that is, an intimate relationship and partnership between spouses.   As such we can look at marriage as the true building block and foundation of community, of society.  Possibly we should say of the kind of society that we want to have.  This is because in a good marriage we have a model and foundation for the types of relationships we wish to spread in the society.  If we keep in mind that it is the Lord also who is a part of this marriage, who mediates marriage and whose reality of love we wish to permeate and grow within the marriage, then we must come to understand that it is the quality of the relationship that makes the great difference here.  We know what abuse causes; we understand that sin of various kinds can destroy a marriage relationship, and that this has been recognized historically by the Church.  But we also must come to see that love itself requires certain standards and norms.  Love is not simply blind devotion, and neither is it the acceptance of lies or falsehoods, abusive ideologies, or power hierarchies.  It is a mutual communion with God as part of that communion, and service to God as part of devotion.  That is, an understanding that we grow in learning this love, in understanding what is good for us and for other human beings.  Neither is marriage a kind of dumping ground for rage, anger, envy, and other kinds of harmful activities directed either at one another, other members of the family, or outward at other people.  For all of these things remain in the context of a marriage as sacrament, marriage as part of covenant with God, where the Lord is present, even as we have recently read Jesus say, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).  A truly good marriage is on the firm ground of Christ's teaching that all the Law and the Prophets hang on the two commandments to love God, and neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40).  We begin with the understanding that God is love (1 John 4:8), and therefore if God is the true foundation for marriage, then it is the practice and action of living love, of growing and learning in love, that forms the basis for the society we want, this basic first relationship found in marriage.  From there, we hope that the fruits of marriage, in fact, expand this living love, filling the need to grow in understanding of how to put love into action.  If we begin only with the basic idea that marriage is just two people forming relationship -- without the presence of God as we understand God as love -- then the purpose of marriage no longer holds that important place of separating abuse from love, harm from blessing.  It is within the context of loving communion, the foundation of God who is love, that marriage forms a basis for the whole world, for true community.  Let us consider the mystery of this sacrament.

 

 

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12-20

Yesterday we read that, on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the great lamps of the outer court of the temple were lit.  These were lamps so high and so brilliant with fire that they lit up whole areas of the city of Jerusalem.  They were four menorah-style lamps 75 feet high, and meant to commemorate the pillar of fire that illuminated the way for Israel through the desert of Sinai.  In this context, my study bible says, Christ is declaring Himself the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, God the Father is light (1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attribute which the Father bestows on His followers (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  In the following chapter, Christ will confirm this claim by performing the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind (9:1-7; esp verse 5), thus "illuminating" his sight.  Also of note here is that the lectionary skips over 7:53-8:11, the story of the woman caught in adultery.  This passage is missing from several ancient manuscripts; it is also absent from the commentaries of St. Chrysostom and other patristic writers.  Nevertheless, it has been understood historically by the Church to be inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, bearing authority of all other Scripture, as my study bible notes.  In the context of that story, it perhaps should be understood that these great lamps of the last day of the Feast were lit in the Court of Women.

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."   In the law, two witnesses were necessary to testify to the truth of something.  Earlier (after He healed a paralytic at the Feast of Weeks), Jesus gave the leaders four witnesses which testify to His identity:  John the Baptist, the works of His ministry, God the Father, and the Scriptures (see this reading).   Here once again, the question of witnessing and testimony to Jesus' identity as the Christ is brought up by the Pharisees.  There is always the question of authority to answer; how does He have the right to speak and act with authority, and who has conferred this authority?  This time He answers by giving two witnesses:  Himself, and God the Father.  As He states here, they know nothing of Him; but He knows where He comes from and where He is going.  It is a statement about the mystery of His divinity, which they cannot understand.

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  My study bible comments that because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (14:7-11).  The text makes it clear that the leadership has decided that He must die, but His hour had not yet come.

Jesus answers the question of mystery with a mysterious answer.  He refers, ultimately, to God the Father.  In the passage cited by my study bible above, Christ gave the same answer, but more explicitly, to His disciple Philip:  "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  The mysterious figure of God the Father is one shrouded in a kind of darkness, and who is illuminated to us by the Incarnate Christ.   Christ is declaring to Philip that God the Father is revealed in both His teaching and in the works He does in His ministry.  In these mysteries of the Persons of the Trinity, we delve into the subject of what is called Apophatic Theology.  That is, the divine nature of God involves so much that is hidden from us that it cannot be spoken of entirely in positive terms; rather we may say more correctly what God is not.  God the Father is revealed to us through Christ, His teachings and His works.  But the completeness of a revelation to us of the divine Persons is impossible, for we are incapable of grasping the fullness of God.  Therefore, one reason for the Incarnation itself is for a revelation of God to us.  However, Christ makes it clear even as He invokes the Father as witness to His own authority as Son, that knowledge of God the Father is possible only through faith, and in particular through faith in the Son.   The mysterious reality of God the Father is also at work in human beings through faith.  When Peter declares in his confession that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16-17), Jesus tells him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   Even the relationship between Father and Son is mysterious to us.  We may grasp Jesus' words and what He is asking us to understand as revelation in His earthly ministry; and yet the fullness of the Persons of the Trinity remains something in darkness to us, a mystery into which we also may grow through the illumination of faith, and bear within us as light.  In the revelations of the Trinity of the Gospels, God the Father is revealed only through a voice that is heard  by very few, such as at Christ's Baptism, and in the Transfiguration.   That the Father is revealed to us only through a voice heard by John the Baptist and Christ's few closest disciples alone is another hint to us about the mystery of God, and God's hiddenness.  God is the One whom Jesus tells us is in the secret place, and who sees in secret, to whom we pray in secret (Matthew 6:6).    As Christ makes clear, it is through the Incarnation that we are given a revelation of the Father; God the Father is working within His ministry to the world.  But neither must we neglect our own understanding of mystery, and our participation via faith and prayer in this secret place, to the immensity of the hidden God, who sees in secret, and hears and answers our prayer in ways which are mysterious.  Jesus speaks in the same way to Nicodemus, when He reveals the mystery of Christian baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit in chapter 3.  Jesus tells him, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Therefore we must be aware that our illumination, the revelation of God that is given to us, will always be partial.  It is a hidden reality into which we may enter and in which we may participate only through faith.  Jesus tells the disciples, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables" (see Mark 4:11-12; Matthew 13:11-12; Luke 8:10).   As we think of this brilliant ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating the light that shined in the darkness for Israel, let us consider the mystery of illumination, and the far deeper hidden reality of God which calls to us and into which we are invited to enter, participate, and grow through faith:  "For whoever has, to him more will be given" (Matthew 13:12).   It is through the Son that the Father is revealed to us, and thus light is shed on all things.  His is the light that shines in the darkness and shows us our way.

To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, "so that

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.'"

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

- Mark 4:1-20

Yesterday we read that after Jesus chose the Twelve, they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.  Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  We who follow the developments in Mark's Gospel can now sense a shift in Jesus' ministry.  He has come to the attention of the religious and state authorities, who now seek to destroy Him.   We have also read of the growing crowds who follow Him, which at this point must be preached to at the shore because of the great number of people who seek Him.   He most likely sits in a boat to avoid being crushed (3:9).  The Twelve have been chosen, and they He has shared with them His power and authority to preach, to heal, and to cast out demons.  So Jesus' speaking in parables marks a new turning point in His ministry.  His call, He who has ears to hear, let him hear! is a reference to the Scripture He will quote from Isaiah, a little further down in our reading, when He speaks in private to the disciples.  The parable of the Sower is Jesus' first parable that He gives in this new style of preaching.   Parables were common forms of teaching by Jesus' time, but no one used them so skillfully as He did.   My study bible describes them as images drawn from daily life to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  Many concern farming, drawn from the daily lives of people in this agrarian society.  Parables, my study bible explains, give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Importantly, and relevant to the growing public attention and crowds who gather to Him, at this point in His ministry He makes it clear that not everybody who hears the parables are going to understand them.  Moreover, understanding and perception happens on different levels.  Most often, Jesus' parables illustrate the "hidden" life of the kingdom of God in our midst, how it works and what it does.

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, "so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.'"   Jesus first explains in private to His disciples His new use of parables in and of itself.  He quotes from Isaiah 6:10.  The hidden messages in the illustrations in the parables are intended to draw those toward Him who are capable of real faith, who "have ears to hear."   God permits our self-chosen blindness; our love must be freely given.  Moreover, God gives people up to their own devices.  It is a way of expanding on Christ's pronouncement regarding blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in yesterday's reading (above).  A refusal of love is not a boundary God crosses to compel us to faith.

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."   Christ reveals Himself to be the Sower, the one who sows the word.  My study bible explains that this is an image of the promised Messiah, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.

Why this hidden nature of the kingdom of heaven?  Why aren't things obvious to us, completely visible?  Why do we need faith?  This is the nature of our world.  If we think about love, we can perhaps understand the nature of this reality a little bit better.  If there is someone that you love, you look upon them with a particular kind of seeing.  In the language of the Scriptures, we look with a particular kind of sight or "eyes that see."  Perhaps we see the good in the soul of the person we love.  There is a special sight that we have.  But the good we see might be at hidden depths, covered up by flaws and bad personal behavior, habits that get in the way of the good that we see.  Love may be simply a kind of faith that there is this depth of good that we somehow perceive.  Moreover, in our world, love may be confused with desire, a type of selfishness, wanting something for ourselves.  God is love (1 John 4:7-21), and from a reciprocal loving communion with God, we learn love.  But the nature of this learning is a long road, a kind of journey.  When Christ speaks of Himself as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), that word for way means "road" or "path" in the original Greek of the Gospels.  Today's parable gives us a sense of what that road is like, and where we might stumble on our way along this path of faith.  It illustrates for us the factors of our world and our lives that get in the way of that great good that is God and our communion with God.  This is not a one-way ticket, a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, or winning the Lotto.  It's a path, a journey -- and it's one that we live in a world that will give us all kinds of temptations to give up on it or to forget about it.  We are, of course, free to get back on that road at any time, but it remains just that:  a road, a journey we take through life that asks of us a daily practice, awareness, and will present us with challenges, as  any true pursuit in love or wisdom is wont to do.   In today's parable, Jesus gives us examples of the things that halt this journey and take it away from us.  In the first example illustrated in the parable, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in the heart.  Then there are those who immediately receive the word with gladness, but they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  When tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Finally He illustrates the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  These are not prophecies written in stone, but they are warnings to us about the reality of the world in which we live and struggle for our faith.  A daily prayer practice is designed simply to keep us on this path, to enable us to resist the temptations and pitfalls that Christ names, to keep our priorities straight -- and our eyes and ears truly hearing and truly seeing.  Like all relationships of love, this is something that asks us to work at it.  We don't create it all by ourselves and we don't invent things from scratch:  but our role to play is very real.  Our work is something Christ asks of us (John 6:28-29).  It asks of us vigilance and watchfulness, a guarding of the heart in which we come to know ourselves and our own weaknesses,  and an effort to protect what we know is good in us, our love of God and that good ground of the heart that Christ illustrates in the parable.  Our "yes" and our own growth in understanding is every bit as essential to this synergy Christ offers of the divine at work in us as God's work is for us in the first place.  Jesus lays out the struggle, and He speaks in parables, guaranteeing that out of all the crowds only those who really feel drawn to this love are the ones who will pursue it with the faith that stands up even to persecution and struggle.  In the loving relationships we know, even popular self-help manuals give us to understand that good loving relationships (such as marriage, for example) involve mutual commitment, work, and daily effort at nurturing, supporting, and protecting them.   God offers us love -- but how do we value and respond to God's love in a world full of temptations to do otherwise?

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

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

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

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

- Luke 22:14-30

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

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

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."   This is the first cup, which concludes the Old Testament Passover meal Christ eats with His disciples to fulfill the Law.  When Jesus says until the kingdom of God comes, He's speaking of His Resurrection.  At that time He will eat and drink again with His disciples (24:43; Acts 10:41).

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."   Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."  It is from the root of the Greek word for gave thanks that we derive the word eucharist.  This immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and Sacrament of Holy Communion in the Church.  Before end of the first century, the Didache (the earliest known teaching manuscript of the Church, ascribed to the apostles) refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist."  My study bible also cites St. Justin, who says in AD 150 of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body."  From the time of the ancient Church it was accepted that Christ's words are true, "that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (Justin Martyr).  This is simply a mystical reality.  In the Eastern Church it remains accepted as such, without theory or explanation.  The Church knows Christ as both God and human.  In the Eucharist is the fullness of the incarnate Christ; hence, a deep Mystery.

 "But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study bible points out to us that Judas, too, is invited to the table for the mystical supper.  Jesus is seeking by all means to save him.  But it is his ultimately unworthy participation that leads to his utter destruction (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; compare Esther 7).

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  As Jesus has just spoken of the coming of the kingdom of God,  the apostles enter into a small-minded dispute about who will be considered the greatest among them in this kingdom.  They have their minds on worldly affairs -- even has Christ has just revealed great mysteries to them.  He corrects them first by comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom (as my study bible puts it) they themselves considered an abomination.  He also contrasts them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study bible quotes Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles, my study bible says, will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  This reflects the many times Jesus cited righteous figures from Israel's past as those who would judge the leadership of His time and their failure to know Him.  God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ; therefore the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  That is, not through position, but through lives of righteousness and the true depth of the heart ("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" - Matthew 5:8).

There is everything we can find in today's reading, all the ups and downs, highs and lows, the sacred and the profane in Christ's life.  We begin with the great mystery of the Eucharist, that which is given to us so that we affirm and remember His presence with us.  It is the heart of the Liturgy, and how we remember Him and seek to live to Him as His followers.  It is the fullness of the Church and His very life that He gives to us.  He tells them this is the last cup He will drink before He suffers.  If we look up the Greek verb suffer, we find that it indicates things that happen to us -- that which causes strong feeling.  This is where we get the word passion (the Greek verb "to suffer" is pasxo, a root also for pathos).  If we ask ourselves, "Does God suffer?" then all we must do is look at Christ and His human life and we must affirm that indeed, God suffers.  Christ suffers with us.  The capacity for this depth of feeling, of passion, good or bad, is considered to be reflective of the fact that we are, indeed, made in the image of God.  The Incarnation indisputably teaches us that our God is not simply a detached intellect, a kind of computational spirit that winds up the universe like a clock, but a Person, one who is personal -- one who feels.  His suffering isn't merely stoic, but is one of true fullness and depth of feeling, a kind of heroism that lives through and transcends.  His rejection is absolute, and so is His love!  He continues to try to save Judas, offering him another chance with Him, to be one of them.  It is an example of how Christ offers us everything.  Even those closest to Him, His closest disciples, the apostles, fail even to take in His words, to understand the nature of His kingdom, to hear His words about His suffering -- and squabble over who will be the greatest as if Jesus is talking about becoming a worldly king.  And again, it is opportunity for teaching.  His concern is for His Church, and what kind of leadership it will have.  His emphasis is service, and He is the prime example of what kind of leadership He chooses for His kingdom.  It is important that we understand all of these things to be here and present, because they are all here and present for us in our lives, even in our every day lives in this world.  So we go through suffering and passion.  So we are capable of love and service.  So we walk, with Him.  At those times in our lives when we are called upon for some sort of sacrifice, and even to suffer the highs and lows of emotional depth and even trauma, let us remember Him.  He was there first, for us.  He is here present, with us, to see us through it all and take us to His kingdom, with Him.

Where is your faith?

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

- Luke 8:16-25

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Jesus' teachings (we could call them a warning, even) about how we hear reflect back to His earlier statement (in yesterday's reading, above) about how parables work.  Quoting Isaiah to the crowds, He said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   He explained to His disciples that, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  In this context, how one hears has to do with revelations of the Kingdom, opening up our "hearing" and even "seeing" to the mysteries of the Kingdom, the reality of this road of faith.  Origen writes, "The vessels of the house are the powers of the soul."  Good hearing, Jesus implies, means that one will be given even more.  A heart incapable of truly listening and hearing is one that will lose even the word it has received.  His teaching also imply living our faith, the patience and persistence it takes to produce good fruit, guarding the word in our hearts, as taught in the parable of the Sower (again, yesterday's reading, see above).

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Again, His teaching here reflects on His teaching above.  Who is united in this light He speaks of?  Who can truly hear the word of God and do it?   This isn't a refusal or refutation of His relationship to mother and brothers (His extended family or stepbrothers, kin), but rather it's a deepening of His teaching, an extension of the sermon He's been preaching.  St. John Chrysostom comments that Jesus is correcting all regarding "the right idea concerning Himself," that the family of His Kingdom "is not by nature but by virtue."  See also 11:27-28, in which Jesus teaches in reply to a blessing about His mother, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  This teaching reveals a characteristic of the new covenant.  The Old Testament kinship laws defined one’s identity as a member of Israel through genealogy and family relationships, but the family of God now consists of those who do his will (St. Basil the Great).

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"  Jesus takes His teaching on faith a little further!  My study bible says He deliberately permits this windstorm to arise while He's sleeping in order to perfect their faith and rebuke their weaknesses, so that they would eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  Their faith here is still mixed with unbelief.  They showed faith when they came to Him, but unbelief when they said, "We are perishing."  He's also leading them on a journey into new territory, across the Sea of Galilee.  The parable of the Sower taught about the long journey of faith, not a one-time confession or profession of it.  Whatever they had already, as Jesus taught above, they are being led into a deeper place of faith and reliance on Him, on God's will for them.

What is the journey of faith like for you?  What does it mean to hear the word of God and do it?  One thing we can say is that whenever we have made a breakthrough in our faith, however deeply we've gone into this journey, we will always be drawn further into reliance upon God.  There will always be new things that shake up our lives a little bit, asking us to go further.  We place our eggs in the basket of faith, and there will always be a new choice ahead, more ways in which we rely on faith -- or not.  Jesus says clearly above, "Whoever has, to him more will be given."   One thing we can say about "how we hear" is that it's not just about learning some rules and doing them.  There are certainty tenets to our faith, ideas that withstand the test of time, theology that remains solid as bedrock from the early Church.  There are ideas we've learned about God, even in the midst of paradox, that remain and ring true and show their true colors time and time again. But faith isn't about some sort of absolute scientific study in which we assume facts because they've been proven someplace.  Faith isn't about treating the Bible like it's merely some sort of history textbook.  Faith involves much more.  Faith is about using perception not only to learn "facts" or "beliefs," it's not just about holding certain value systems that we always follow.  Faith, as Christ describes it here, involves a kind of relationship, a capacity for relatedness, that has to do with something deeper within us than the usual five senses with which we perceive the world.  Faith involves a discernment that is also of the soul, ears that hear more deeply what a truth is than listening to a lecture and choosing intellectually what we will accept that fits with what we already know or not.  Faith involves a depth of the heart.  It involves commitment to a Person, to Christ.  It involves a depth of understanding of love that's beyond what love we already understanding, such as that of family or loyalty to a clan, or even a nominal belief system, or a political party.  Faith is all about a relationship that comes from the willingness to perceive the light God shines into the world, to be receptive to grace, to take the chance on the love one may find in prayer.  We may go through great difficulties in life, particularly because of our faith.  We might find ourselves on the wrong side of what's popular or accepted in a circle of friends, acquaintances, in the workplace, in our homes and extended family.  We might find ourselves constantly questioning our acceptance of the ways in which we choose to live by Christ's teachings.  Even forgiveness may have us questioning whether or not we're making the right choices to negotiate life in a particular way.  But faith involves a return to prayer, a return to the place of the heart, a return to that place such as the disciples on the road to Emmaus felt when they asked, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"  Faith is not about the certainty that we've got it all together, but rather about the act of putting faith into something, or putting our trust in that place of the heart that responds to Christ, even when we're not so sure where we're going or where it's leading us.  Faith is about a trust that love can lead us the right way.  Jesus says that "whoever has, to him more will be given."  This more can mean greater challenges, deeper hurts to feel and to give up to God, even persecution that challenges what we understand of forgiveness.  It can mean giving up cherished relationships when we must choose between such and our faith.  It can mean dropping certainties we thought we knew in favor of that which asks our trust without proof that it's the "right" way to go.  Faith is about a life that calls us ahead and is shaped by joy or peace that has no place in the "rational" scheme of things when we've lost, or when we're alone, or when love becomes the only true place to fall back on in the midst of a merciless world.  It is all about that place we find that links us to something not just transcendent, but which links us to love that passes understanding and a depth in the heart we can't just explain to anyone.  It's that kind of love that we find sitting in a service, in speaking with someone we trust who shares our faith, in the persistence we find that goes beyond what we've known about patience.  There is the depth of faith, the journey that always challenges us for more.  Let us root ourselves within that strength and that courage.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking to the crowd regarding Himself and John the Baptist.  He said, "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  The "wise and prudent" would be those experts such as the Pharisees who can't "see" nor accept Jesus' message in the signs of His great works performed in their midst.  My study bible cites Theophylact as noting that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world not out of malice, but due to their own lack of receptivity:  there is a choice to be made between what one already "knows" and judges and the things God pulls us toward to reveal and to open up and expand our understanding.  Out of love, therefore, revelation may be withheld from those who would scorn it (7:6), so they don't refuse what would result in an even greater condemnation (see Luke 8:10).

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible tells us that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke can be seen as an image of hardship or burdens and responsibilities imposed, especially by a harsh ruler or king (see 1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-15).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in every person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely than any effort a human being puts forth.  Gentle here means literally "meek"  (see "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," Matthew 5:5, in the reading of the Beatitudes).

Christ promises rest in learning.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me" is a promise of growth into new things, gifts, mysteries.  We don't do this journey alone, and He shares His yoke with us.  A yoke gives us an image of two things put together:  two oxen pulling a plow under one yoke, for instance.  Christ promises that He is with us, and gives us rest in this place where we take on the yoke He offers.  All of it seems utterly paradoxical, especially given the typical traditional image of the yoke.  And yet, with Christ, this is the life He offers to us.  It is those who refuse it who lose out; they are the ones who are "wise and prudent" in Jesus' words, the worldly who seem to know the wisdom of the world, who go out of their way to scorn what He offers.  And yet He does choose "babes" to carry His message; the apostles do not come from the classes of those educated in Scripture.  What we come to understand is all about acceptance.  Do we accept His help, His guidance?  Are our minds open to what He offers?  Everything seems to come down to two things:  humility and the capacity to desire the kind of love He offers.  This is a love that invites us in to His world, His Kingdom.  It invites us in to learn from Him, to take on the yoke He offers.  It's not the yoke of a worldly king, but of one who is "gentle and lowly in heart."  It's not a yoke that invites our pity, but one that asks for our capacity for love and learning from Him.  It asks us for relationship and emptying, and it will take us to places we never imagined going, to challenges that stretch us out of our own "knowing."   It is in this learning and coming to know what He offers that our joy may be full.