Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."   And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was going out on the road toward Jerusalem, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study Bible comments that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  They also confirm that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.  This is the third time Jesus has warned the disciples of what will happen at Jerusalem.   

 

 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."   And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."   Once again there is discussion among the disciples as to who would be appointed to positions of greatness (see also this reading).  My study Bible notes that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple, and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  (Perhaps -- as with the previous dispute over who would be great -- now that they are headed toward Jerusalem, the disciples expect an earthly Kingdom to be established by Jesus.)  Christ calls is Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  The Cross is a cup, my study Bible explains, because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, but it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Jesus' prophecy of John and James participating in this same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they will lead after Pentecost.  My study Bible further explains that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean that He lacks authority.  It means, instead, that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  They will be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  Additionally, my study Bible asks us to note that with regard to sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that no one could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that human beings can be given, the icons of the Orthodox Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women; Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (the greatest born of women; Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  Jesus repeats His teaching on greatness as linked with humility and service, and that the first shall be last.  

 

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." My study Bible explains that for many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

 

As Jesus begins to go toward Jerusalem, He begins to prepare the disciples also for their road ahead.  At this stage, it is the disciples who bring problems to Him that He addresses in terms of their perspective on authority and "greatness."  Christ has already addressed this question of leadership in a previous reading (here), teaching them about graciousness in dealing with the "little ones" in the Church, as well as about service and humility.  This previous reading was followed by a staggering warning about abuses within His Church, and what the consequence to abuse of authority -- particularly with regard to those who are "least" in the Church.  Here in today's reading, Jesus once again emphasizes the responsibility of authority, that a "great" position is not given in order to "lord it over" others, but to serve.  It's most important that we understand that Christ Himself here indicates that He Himself will set the tone for those who follow in His footsteps.  He will sacrifice His life for the rest.  As my study Bible affirms, both John and James will follow with His cup and His baptism.  James will be the first disciple to die a martyr (Acts 12:1-2).  John will go on to a long life of service to the Church under persecution and himself in exile, giving us one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  He will also be the one assigned by Christ to take His place as Mary's son (John 19:26), living with her and caring for her after Christ's death.  He is known also as the beloved disciple.  While in today's reading, their expectations are focused on their possible positions in a worldly kingdom, they would go on to become exemplary disciples and saints of the Church, truly serving "many" as did Christ.  Without them we would not have the Church that we have, nor the tremendous insights and understanding we know from John's works, as well as the beauty of the Light that is Christ, and possibly the most important foundation of Christian theology and our knowledge of God.  Let us keep in mind that these disciples would leave their own communities, so their expectations about the kingdom of the Messiah would be completely upended.  In persecution, in exile, in martyrdom, all the things they thought they wanted would be things they would sacrifice for Christ's Kingdom, and the new way it brought to the world.  

 

 

 

 

Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me

 

 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. 

 

Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.   And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  

 

Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."   But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

 

- Mark 9:30–41 

 

 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

 

  Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.   Here Jesus predicts His death and Resurrection a second time to the disciples (see also this reading).  My study Bible says that He does so in order to show that He is going to His Passion freely, and not being taken against His will.  Let us note that the disciples still did not understand what He was telling them, and they were afraid to ask Him about it as well.  

 

 Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.   And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."   It's likely that Christ's talk of rising again on the third day has the disciples convinced that He is speaking about a worldly kingdom that will manifest, with Jesus the Messiah at its head.  My study Bible comments that the dispute among the disciples as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom they envisioned indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Jesus powerfully asserts the norms of service, and of humility as those which must operate regarding greatness in His kingdom (and His Church).   To receive even a little child in Christ's name is to receive Christ; and to receive Christ is to receive God the Father who sent Him.  

 

 Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."   But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  My study Bible notes that Theophylact sees John's comment voiced as a regret, his conscience having been pricked by what Christ said about the least and the great.  But St. Ambrose, on the other hand, sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany these blessings of the Kingdom.  In either interpretation, my study Bible says, Christ's response shows those acting in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact writes, "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples."  See also Numbers 11:24-30.  On those who use Christ's name without good faith, see Luke 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.  

 

 There are interesting "directions" (or perhaps we should call them "redirections") in today's reading.  By that one intends to note how Jesus asks us to redirect our perception of persons to Himself.  In the first case, we're told that then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Jesus asks us to redirect our gaze upon those whom we receive in His name, and to look beyond them to see Himself.  In this case, we're to redirect our gaze yet again -- in order to see God the Father received wherever He is.  Note that He sets down the specific condition under which this happens:  when they are received "in My name."   That is, when the disciples are acting on Christ's behalf, as we all might do when we are acting as His disciples, serving in His Church, living our faith.  In the second instance, to act in Christ's name is something He asks us to observe also in other people, whom we perhaps do not even know.  And for those people as well, we are supposed to perceive Christ in the midst of their action.  Jesus says,   "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."   From this latter statement, we can presume that one who acts (gives you a cup of water to drink) in His name, and also because the receiver is somehow "in His name" (because you belong to Christ), will by no means lose his reward.   From these statements we can conclude that the power of Christ's Person, and particularly of His "energies" or spiritual activity in the world, is always going to be at work accompanying those who act in His name, and those who live lives of faithfulness to Him.  When we maintain this kind of faithful living for ourselves, and when we receive even those of seeming least importance in His name, then we are to see Him in that person (as well as the Father by implication), and we are those who carry His blessings as well.  We're given a hint in these statements about the power and blessings that accompany the presence of Christ.  Perhaps we should rather say that Christ's words affirm His presence in all that we do, if we act "in His name."  That is, when we are living faithful lives, and acting as His disciples, seeking to live His will for us.  This principle is true when we are the principle actors, or are the recipients of faithful action, as one who belongs to Him.  Moreover, we're to carry this action of Christ's presence over to our own awareness, our consciousness of receiving Him even in "the least of these," and -- even more powerfully -- this magnifies moreover into the presence of God the Father who sent Him on His saving mission in the world.  Like a powerful worldly emperor or king, all that is "in His name" belongs to Him and represents the presence of His Person, even of the One who sent Him.  When St. Paul writes about a great "cloud of witnesses," he is referring by extension to all those who played a role in the salvation history of the world, the creation and unfolding of the faith that we receive.  But such a cloud could not exist without what it means to act and be faithful "in His name" -- for, as St. Paul also writes, "He is the author and finisher of our faith" (see Hebrews 12:1-3).   In these senses in which Christ is present with us in our faithfulness, through people we receive in His name, and also through us when those who receive us do us kindness, that faithfulness "in His name" makes possible a kind of icon.  That is, in all of these encounters, and in living this life of faithfulness, icons of Christ Himself -- images which point to and reflect Him -- become possible in all encounters.  This chain of meetings and images and meanings works to turn Christ's creation into His icon, when we live and practice faith in His name.  Let us be ready and willing for these encounters and the life He asks of us.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."   And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  

 

Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  This is the third time we've read that Jesus warns the disciples about what is to come in Jerusalem.  Let us note, they are now on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and so the events of what we call Holy Week are drawing near.  Jesus gets even more specific in His warnings to the disciples, saying that He will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes.  He includes that He will be delivered to the Gentiles, who will mock Him, scourge Him, and spit on Him and kill Him.  My study Bible notes that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  Once again, He also confirms that He goes to His death of His own will and choosing. 

 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."    Yet again we find the disciples concerned with issues of greatness and position (see also this reading, in which they disputed among themselves who would be greatest).  My study Bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  In Matthew's Gospel, it is written that the mother of Zebedee's sons requested this honor, but James' and John's own involvement is clear as Jesus addresses them in the plural "you" and also here in this passage in Mark.  My study Bible adds that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  The Cross is a cup, it explains, because Christ drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, but it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost, James being the first of the Twelve to be martyred, and John living a long life of persecution.  My study Bible also notes that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  Instead, it means that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  Rather, Jesus will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  My study Bible asks us to note also that with regard to sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that no one could possibly occupy such a position.  With regard to the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, in the icons of the Orthodox Church it is universally depicted that the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (the greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11) hold these places on the left and right of the opening to the altar.

 

And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

It seems that as Jesus and the disciples go toward Jerusalem, expectations are high among the disciples (and today, among John and James Zebedee) that Jesus will be coming into a physical kingdom.  Thus, their concern about their places within that kingdom.  No wonder Jesus repeatedly tries to tell them about what is to come in Jerusalem.  Not only does He need to prepare them for the entirely (to them) unexpected outcome.  He also must change their own expectations about what it will mean to be apostles of the Kingdom of God.  It will mean the same cup and baptism which Jesus Himself will endure.  So often, we seem to expect the establishment of a beautiful kingdom with all of its attendant splendor will be established for us because of our faith.  But our faith simply doesn't really work that way.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught in reply to Peter, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  Note Jesus' reassurance of some sort of recompense or replenishing of losses or sacrifice endured for the sake of Himself and the gospel.  But these things will come through our faith, and most likely through the Church in some way; worship houses, brothers and sisters in the Church.  Notice also that Jesus is careful to say that these things will come with persecutions as well.    But here in today's reading, Christ's emphasis is once again on service.  They are not to look to the kingdoms of the Gentiles to think about what the Kingdom of God is all about, and what they must be about.  Christ's servants are not to lord it over others, even to exercise authority in the same style.  If these disciples truly want to be great in His Church, then it is they who must serve others instead.  "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."  If we are to be great in our Church, among believers, and within His Kingdom, then it is we who must be prepared to serve.  How does that happen?  We pray for others.  We seek to do good to our brothers and sisters.  We comfort.  We extend a kind word.  We give what we can and when we can.  We are to show compassion (Matthew 25:31-46).  Sometimes even just sitting with someone is an act of kindness and compassion, and can make all the difference in a hard circumstance.  For if we listen to Jesus, then this is what we are made for.  We are made to help, and to find ourselves in what we can do to help.  Jesus goes so far as to say that whoever desires to be first shall be a slave of all.  Note that this has nothing to do with socially significant acts, designed to be approved of and noticed.  Christ does not establish rules defining what being a servant or slave means here.  This is not about a solution to social and political problems on abstract terms.  Above all, these are personal actions He's speaking of, personal kinds of relations, personal "right-relatedness."  For it is where there is need that we can be truly helpful.  And finally there is the great caveat, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  He sets the example.  If we want to look to the One whom we follow, we look to Him.  When we steep ourselves in prayer, and find ourselves in Christ's own love, then we find the energy to do as He asks.  Let us not leave out our own preparedness  and pacing for this journey, just as Jesus prepares and paces the disciples in so many ways.

 

 

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?

 

 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. 

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  

 

So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  

 

Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

 

- Luke 24:12–35 

 

Yesterday we read that the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  

 

  But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.   We recall that Peter acts even as the other apostles disbelieve the women who had conveyed the message of the angel at the tomb.   See yesterday's reading, above, in which "their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them."  Seeing the linen gravelothes lying by themselves, Peter marvels to himself at what had happened.  

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.   The two of them are Cleopas and, in accordance with tradition, Luke the author of our Gospel.  It was a common literary device for a writer, my study Bible explains, not to give one's own name (see Mark 14:51; John 21:24).

So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  My study Bible comments that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it is not immediately recognizable (John 20:14, 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).   The body is also able to take different forms, which is what occurs here (see Mark 16:12).  That their eyes were restrained tells us that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him.  My study Bible explains that this is in order to expose their doubting thoughts and then cure them by means of the Old Testament Scriptures (see the verses that follow in today's reading).  

Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."   My study Bible explains here that the disciples' hope for redemption was still imbedded in a foolish misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or deliverer.  With Christ's death, this earthly hope had been dashed. 

Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.   My study Bible says that it is partial faith to believe in a Messiah who only suffered or one that would only reign in His glory.  Complete faith sees the Messiah encompassing both, as all of this was foretold in the Law and the Prophets -- as Jesus reveals to them by expounding to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

 

 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  My study Bible points out that the Lord breaks bread in the same manner as at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19).  In so doing, He images the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  It notes that all who commune with the Lord in His risen Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him.

 

And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.   The disciples ask, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  This, my study Bible says, is the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  This burning is the conviction that the words and promises are true.  We note once more that Christ is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread.

I love that the disciples speak of the effect of recognition as they experience it:  "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  It is an intriguing way to phrase what it feels like when something strikes us as very true -- and very commonly it happens that this recognition comes when reading Scripture.  But that burning in the heart is a response that comes not from simply hearing, but from hearing kindled with faith, and signifying recognition of a truth that hits us in the heart.  That is, in the deep place where we truly live, where our soul resides.  In this way, the Gospels have recorded for us just what this feels like, and we who have had similar experiences can affirm what we share with the disciples.  While there are many reports of people seeing a vision of Jesus, here the forms that Christ takes make it clear that we might not recognize it when He is close to us, or when we are in a place in which we can draw upon the truth of Christ's message for us with sudden recognition.  One might be sitting in class, in a cafe, in an airport, on a bus, or driving to work.  As we read from this appearance, there really is no limit to the places where we might experience Christ in some way or another.  And this should be comforting to us, because it means that there is no circumscribed limitation on how, where, why, what, and when Christ comes to us -- or when knowledge of His truth might somehow be revealed so that our hearts also "burn" within us.  This is the first noticeable effect of Resurrection, that now there are no limits on Christ.  He has conquered the limitations of the world, and opened up the ways in which we might come to truth, to know God -- and more importantly, to participate in the grace of God.  In John 16:33, Jesus declares, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  This is one aspect of overcoming the world, that with Christ's Resurrection, there is no restriction on how God can come to us, on where God's energies can find us, on that journey toward the fuller knowledge of Him that this promises.  Here is the first effect of Resurrection, the flowering of the events of Christ's Passion, and of His ministry and mission into our world to experience life as we do.  In fact, for many people perhaps, the reports of such experience are so commonly known as to simply be dismissed and ignored, perhaps as "idle tales" produced by certain types of people.  But such dismissal isn't possible after an experience of the same.  In fact, if we look around, we just might find that Christ comes to people in many ways, including those they might not recognize.  Let us be grateful for this opening up, as seen by many in the tearing of the veil in the temple.  We might read it at once as a response of shock at the death of Christ the Son; but just as with the Passion itself, we need faith to see also that it is the universal opening of grace for all.

What do you want Me to do for you?

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. 

 

- Mark 10:46-52 

 

Yesterday we read that they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before the disciples; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."   Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.   Of today's passage, my study Bible comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign that was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), a power which God had reserved for God alone (compare John 9:32).  Son of David was a messianic title, which shows that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ.   In patristic commentary there is also a spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  My study Bible explains that Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  In this case, it symbolizes fallen humanity.  Christ passing through Jericho then becomes an image of His Incarnation.  That He restores sight to Bartimaeus is a parallel to His restoring humanity to glory.  Having been made whole by Christ, human nature is now capable of following Christ on the road to the Kingdom, which is symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (the following reading as we begin chapter 11).

If we follow the spiritual interpretation of today's reading that is reported by my study Bible, we might want to ponder a little more deeply this understanding that Christ's healing power makes us capable of following Him on the road to the Kingdom.  Bartimaeus' blindness, in the language of the Gospels, makes his sight darkened.  His eyes are incapable of taking in light.  In this symbolic sense, the light of the world illuminates all things, presents to us the reality of the things of the world, for everything is made clear by light and the quality of light we're capable of seeing.  The fullest spectrum of light is a bright white, which gives us true hues and the quality of a sharp and brilliant image.  All of these metaphors of light and darkness, of illumination and blindness, are meant to help us to understanding the powerful effect of Christ and what He does to restore us to our capabilities.  In this case, that would particularly apply to our capabilities for discernment (another analogy to "seeing").  If we take this metaphor to a fuller sense, we might consider how all the world is utterly dependent upon sunlight for everything; without it, the world and all lives within the world would die or become extinct.  What Christ does by restoring Bartimaeus' capacity for taking in the light is make it possible for him to see and discern the way toward greater illumination.  As my study Bible puts it, He makes it possible for Bartimaeus to follow Him on the road to Jerusalem, toward the fullness of the Kingdom.  He gives us the capacity to discern the light, so that we also may grow and have the capability for a kind of fullness only He can lead us toward.  So we must consider healing to be, if not a simple restoration to the fullness of glory, a kind of restoration to the capability of pursuing and finding that glory, which is the true spiritual journey of the soul.  Only He can lead us there but we first need the capacity to follow Him, to grasp that He holds the spiritual truth we need and the light that feeds us and that is necessary to support all life.  Let us note Jesus' question to Bartimaeus, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  In yesterday's reading (above), Jesus asked the same question of John and James Zebedee.  But He could not fulfill their request, only that they could follow Him on the road in their own journeys as disciples into the fullness of whatever future and image that was held for them.  In today's reading, Jesus answers Bartimaeus' request in the positive, fulfilling what he asks.  But this healing makes Bartimaeus also capable, as John and James Zebedee, of following Him on the road to Jerusalem and to whatever future awaits in that life of the Kingdom for him.  And this is healing for each of us:  that we may perceive that light and follow where it leads us, for growth, flourishing, and the glory that awaits in the image He has for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. 

 

- Mark 10:46-52 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him.  Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And however of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  My study Bible comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4, 5), a power which God had reserved only for God (compare John 9:32).  Son of David, used by Bartimaeus to call Jesus, is a messianic title; it shows that the blind man had faith that Jesus was the Christ (the "Anointed," meaning Messiah).  There is also a spiritual interpretation of this miracle in patristic tradition.  Jericho, my study Bible explains, was a low-lying city which was associated with sin (see Luke 10:30; 19:1); here it symbolizes fallen humanity.  As Christ passes through Jericho, it is an image (or icon) of His Incarnation.  The Lord restoring sight to Bartimaeus is a parallel to His restoring humanity to glory -- to "enlighten" Bartimaeus' eyes is to illuminate humankind.   Having been made whole by Christ, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, which is symbolized by the Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (in the verses that immediately follow today's reading, which begin chapter 11).  

How many ways are there for a person to be blind?  In Christ's world, it was commonly understood that a blind person's eyes were "darkened," unable to receive light.   So to have one's sight restored was to have one's eyes opened, allowing light to illuminate sight.  These are all expressions denoting common perceptions about blindness and sight.  But they all clearly have metaphorical meanings.  To be enlightened or illuminated is to understand something, to obtain knowledge, often used to mean spiritual wisdom.  As Christians, we couple this with our understanding, especially through the Gospel of John and other Scriptural references, that God is light (see John 1:4, 5; 1 John 1:5, among many other references).  Also in John's Gospel, Jesus says, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  Here Jesus is referencing both Himself as the light and also light as synonymous with the good, and darkness as evil or the influence of the devil.  Darkness (or the absence of light) may also be seen as a metaphor both for ignorance and even heresy.  A heresy is most often a partial truth.  Like the weeds (or tares) that resemble the wheat in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30), half-truths or partial truths can be more dangerous than outright lies for their ability to deceive.  So we should consider even partial darkness to be metaphorically a problem for human beings.  Each of these considerations reflects on what blindness is when we're speaking in spiritual terms:  blindness may mean being deceived by lies and half-truths, or by hypocrisy, another theme Jesus warns about constantly in the Gospels.  When He levels His criticism at the Pharisees and scribes, it is most often about their hypocrisy.  See especially Matthew 23:1-36, in which He calls them "hypocrites!" many times.  He says to them, "For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:27-28).  This is a metaphor that builds on metaphors:  a whitewashed exterior that seems to reflect the fullness of light hides an interior which is full of darkness.  In that same passage from Matthew 23, further reflecting the theme of spiritual blindness, Jesus calls them "blind guides" and "fools and blind" who lead others into their spiritual darkness and ignorance, misleading with lies, hypocrisy, and heretical partial truths.  ("For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves" - Matthew 23:15).  Blind Bartimaeus is perhaps a symbol for a misled humanity:  blind through no fault of  one's own, but simply for having inherited and been born into a world of sin and darkness, of lies and partial truths, of those who mislead for their own gain, and with spiritual leaders who practice hypocrisy.  Jericho becomes a symbol for a world blighted by these effects, which blind us to the light of God, making it hard to find our way.  Into this world comes Christ with His brilliant light, so dazzling (see the Transfiguration reading) that those of us who are used to darkness may ourselves be blinded to it for a time, unable to take it in -- and yet, as my study Bible explains, it is His healing grace that allows us to become whole so that we may receive His light.  Bartimaeus' prayer is one that lasts through the ages and is still with us.   With the quality of faith and trust, the Lord's grace and mercy enable us to truly see and to become accustomed to His light,  so that we may dwell in it.  Let us welcome that light as we walk on the road with Him as does the healed Bartimaeus, toward Jerusalem, becoming more accustomed to His illumination -- so that we, also, may celebrate the Resurrection with Him, in His glory.

 

 

With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible

 

 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Mark 10:17-31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples departed from Capernaum and came to the region of Judea by the other side (east) of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  '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."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.   

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God."  My study Bible notes that this man does not come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from one whom he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Jesus' response is not to deny that He is God, but rather designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.  

"You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."   My study Bible comments that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  It says that this man had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that he still lacked something; therefore, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.  

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  It's very important that Mark tells us that Jesus loved him.  Therefore His next word to the man, to "sell whatever you have and give to the poor," and have treasure in heaven, and to take up the cross, and follow Him, is a product of Christ's love.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells him to do these things "if you want to be perfect."   To "be perfect," my study Bible comments, one must willing sacrifice all and follow Christ.  Nothing is gained unless this is a sacrifice which is given freely.  The specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person, it says.  As wealth had such a great grip on this rich man (and his identity), his only hope was to sell and give away all of his possessions.  In the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on the similar passage in Matthew, he tells us that to give away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Christ in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  My study Bible comments that various interpretations have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  For example, that the word was not camel, but "rope" (which sounds similar in Aramaic); or that the eye of a needle was a city gate through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all of its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  In the Talmud there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  Whatever this phrase is referring to, it shows the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is clearly evidenced, my study Bible says, by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  But by God's grace, what is impossible for human beings can come to pass.  

Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  My study Bible comments that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  St. John Chrysostom says that this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual sense -- the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.

What do possessions mean to this man?  Certainly the disciples understand the great difficulty of salvation as reflected in today's story, as indicated by their question to Jesus, "Who then can be saved?"  The disciples, also, would go on to leave family and possessions behind for the sake of the gospel.  But this young man, whom we're told Jesus loved, is clearly tied to his possessions in a way that makes it impossible for him to think about parting from them.  Perhaps his whole identity, including that of his family and place in society, is likely bound up in those possessions, as we might assume they take the form of inherited wealth and property.  He is sincere, but the sacrifice Christ asks of him is something from which he doesn't want to part, and is dear enough so that he cannot make this decision.   If we look with a close eye on this text, we see that Jesus is reminding the disciples of words that He's said to them before:  "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."   In Monday's reading, we were told that the disciples were disputing among themselves while they were on the road about who would be greatest in the kingdom which they no doubt expect will be established by Jesus as an earthly kingdom of Israel.  Jesus said to them then, ""If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."   He then went on to vividly illustrate (in Tuesday's reading) the kinds of sacrifices they would have to be willing to make to be truly great in His Kingdom, and as those who will serve His Church as its leaders.  So, with this statement that "many who are first will be last, and the last first," He's reminding them of the sacrifices it takes to fully enter this Kingdom, and what will characterize those who will be "first" in it.  It is the attitude necessary for those who will be its most prominent members, its greatest and "first."  St. Peter adds a sobering statement that seems to take all of the apostles to the recollection of what their lives are now about, that they have left all and followed Him.  But then Jesus promises the "hundredfold" bounty of the Kingdom, the reality of His promise.  For me, this reality has proven true; although disappointed in "earthly" family or life in many ways, I have found great treasure in the Church, including the joy shared with many brothers and sisters and the love between them which is given by Christ, houses of worship numerous and more beautiful than one could have imagined, the glory of the saints and the illuminated beauty of holy books and holy art, and all the richness found in the Church in so many ways, so many languages, so many countless believers.  This is the glory of God and the Kingdom that we are given, but it does come with a responsibility, that we are asked to mature in Christ, to be willing to give up the things He wants us to leave behind, including those things that would seem to define our identity, things even that are precious to us.  As He illustrates in Tuesday's reading by speaking about amputation of hand, or eye, or foot, there are things that seem to be so deeply a part of us that they are inseparable, and yet we must decisively leave them behind.  These include selfish habits, those that hurt others, or in the case of this young man, the wealth that so has him in its grip, especially while he is yet unaware of the great joy to be found in faith in Christ.  Jesus does not minimize the difficulty!  We can be assured that He understands what He asks of each of us, and our own struggles in faith.  And yet, He calls us forward with Him, where all things become possible.

And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 

- Mark 10:46-52 

 

Yesterday we read that the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."   And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

  Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  My study bible comments that restoration of sight to the blind was a sign that was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18, 25:4-5).  It was considered to be a power that God had reserved for God alone (compare to John 9:32).  Son of David is a messianic title, which shows that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ.  My study bible also says that there is a patristic interpretation with a spiritual orientation to this miracle.  Jericho was a low-lying city which was associated with sin (Luke 10:30, 19:1).  In the spiritual interpretation of this story, Jericho symbolizes fallen humanity.  That Christ passes through the city is an image of the Incarnation.  Christ restoring sight to Bartimaeus is a parallel to restoring humanity to glory, a kind of illumination.  Once the spiritually blind are made whole by Christ, human nature can can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, which is symbolized by Jesus' subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (11:1-11).  

What is blindness, and how do we understand it?  Today we have scientific innovations that make correction of physical blindness (or degrees of blindness) something that no longer seems only possible to God.  But then again, at the time of Christ, to restore sight was a seeming impossibility, something unheard-of.  So the prophetic understanding that this would be a sign of the Messiah still stands within the context of the time of Jesus Christ.  But how shall we consider this story today?  Of course we understand Jericho as a place of peril, of sin and violence.  Jesus set the parable of the The Good Samaritan in Jericho for just such a reason; this road was a dangerous place to travel.  Even historically in the Scriptures, Jericho figured as a place of sin.  We also have to see, as my study bible pointed out, that Jesus must pass through Jericho to get to Jerusalem.  Just like for Joshua and the ancient Israelites, this city must somehow be conquered or passed through before Jesus can reach the holy city to establish His Kingdom.  So much depends upon how we think of that city and of Christ's Kingdom.  Jericho, the low-lying city, can even be thought of as akin to the time that Jesus will spend in Hades, the underworld, preaching the good news of the gospel to all who have passed, and linked to His time in the tomb prior to Resurrection.  In the earliest teaching documents of the Church, such as the Didache, and also prominent in Jewish tradition, is the understanding of the "two ways" of spiritual truth.  That is, the way of life and the way of death.  In a sense, the Incarnation of Christ is the story of the root of life itself (John 14:6), passing through the place of death, and by doing so, defeating death.  Bartimaeus as a blind man, symbolizes those without the light of Christ's truth and life, those who grasp in the dark for mercy for their afflicted condition.  But he is also the son of honor, for he is the "son of Timaeus" (as the name Bartimaeus means).  Timaeus has a Greek root, which means honor or worth, that virtue that is true substance and value.  Blind Bartimaeus knows that he is afflicted, but he cannot help himself.  He is also aware of the place from which his help will come, and shouts to Christ as the "son of David," the Messiah, the one who will restore the true Kingdom.  If we apply Bartimaeus' story to ourselves, we must see that he may mirror us in the sense that he knows he is diminished, afflicted, held back by something that is not his fault.  His sin or imperfection is all about what he can't see, and only Christ can restore that sight.  Jesus says, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  When we know that for some reason our lives aren't working, when we seem to be running into dead ends, there is one place we go for illumination, for light to show us the path we need, the way of life that leads out of the way of death, and that is to Christ.  Let us note that the text tells us that Bartimaeus threw aside his garment to run to Christ when he was called.  It is symbolic that the past had been exhausted for him, nothing that had been tried before could help, and he was ready to toss aside his past for the future offered by Christ's life and light (John 1:4).  To get past death, we need the One who destroyed death by passing through it in order to give us an abundance of life, Resurrection.  When our past no longer works for us, when everything we know does not prepare us for the present affliction, let us turn to the One for whom there is no such thing as "hopeless," the refuge for all.  He who turns no one away will hear our cries for mercy.  But like Bartimaeus, let us cast aside the garments of the past, and follow Him on the road where He leads to the holy Kingdom of God.