Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

 

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 7:1–12 

 

In our present readings, we are going through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 

 

  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study Bible comments that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  That is, we have also failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  It notes that to pass judgment is to assume the authority of God.  The second part of this verse is found also in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each in a different context, as Jesus no doubt repeated this message many times.  

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  This is a continuation of Christ's teaching in the previous verse, but with more specifics.  Note how it continues on themes of the "eye" -- and whether or not our eye is "full of light" (Matthew 6:22-23).  Here the plank in one's own eye is that which obstructs true vision.  But Christ is speaking of our own faults and flaws we need to correct, and our "blind eye" toward ourselves.  Moreover, Jesus will recommend mutual correction in the Church.  But how can one become a true  brother and teach others when we have failed to implement our own correction or repentance?

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study Bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but this would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to patristic commentary, "dogs" here is meant to apply to those so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and "swine" are images of those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including the teachings of Christ (Matthew 13:46) and the great sacraments.  My study Bible says that these holy things are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, not to protect the holy things themselves, for Christ needs no protection.  Instead, we protect those who are faithless from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  Let us also note the context of mutual correction which Jesus discusses above:  while humble correction or teaching can be helpful and instructive, it is wasted on those who cannot value it, who may even in fact respond with vicious hostility.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?"  My study Bible explains that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives.  That is, they convey the teaching that we should "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here:  our effort is commanded, but not apart from God's immediate help to us.  My study Bible says that we ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.  

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study Bible comments that Jesus calls human beings evil not in order to condemn the whole human race, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness that is in people (in other words, our goodness is also mingled with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, it notes, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This is known as the "Golden Rule," and it fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  As my study Bible importantly notes, it is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:39-40).  This is, it says, a first step in spiritual growth.  The negative form of the Golden Rule was well known in Judaism ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you").  Christ's form is positive:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God. 

In chapter 18 of St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus lays out a model for mutual correction in the Church (see Matthew 18:15-17); it's a teaching for what to do with a sinning brother, particularly one who has caused offense.  It's given in the context of Christ's teaching on forgiveness.  When Jesus teaches today that, first, we must not judge, and second we must correct our own flaws before we can helpfully teach others, we see an overarching context of mutual correction or edification, which includes constructive criticism -- and must always be done with love and mercy.  In St. Luke's Gospel, we find the similar teaching of the Golden Rule, "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31).  On that passage, St. Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love" the basic standard of how we're to treat others.  As Christians, the entirety of today's passage conveys, we're meant to be continually growing.  This is, in effect, the purpose of discipleship.  As Jesus teaches us also to "keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking," He's implying also a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and for the things of God.  For these are the mysteries into which discipleship initiates us and continues to take us more deeply.  To understand one's own errors and make correction is to become capable of helping or teaching others along the way.  But without that effort, we simply judge; we are not practicing mercy, love, or the Golden Rule.  For indeed, if we would desire to excel in real discipleship to Christ, then we might understand how to help others who desire the same thing.  But we shouldn't presume to cast those pearls before people who find no value in such discipleship, as Christ warns us here.  So our growth must be seeded with mercy and kindness, our conduct so -- but the righteousness and love Christ teaches is also meant to be discerning.  It is quite similar to His teaching to the apostles upon sending them out on their first mission:  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  Let us keep asking, seeking, and knocking to grow in learning Christ's ways of loving righteousness, and in those "good things" God will give to us.

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces

 

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.  

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want me to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 

- Matthew 7:1-12 

 

We are currently reading through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 -7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they either toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore, do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 

"Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study Bible comments that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the very things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  In modern terms, this is frequently called "projection."  My study Bible adds that we ourselves have failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  To pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse is found in Mark 4:24 and in Luke 6:38, each in a different context, as Christ no doubt repeated this particular message many times.  Let us note also how this teaching ties in with His teaching on the practice of mercy and forgiveness elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:7, 6:14-15).

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  While Jesus' teaching here exemplifies what He has just taught about judgment, and applies in general to our behavior, we may also look at this in the context of discipleship.  Correction is part of discipleship, and mutual correction is a teaching Christ has given to the Church in Matthew 18:15-35 (at the end of which, He repeats His warning about forgiving trespasses found in Matthew 6:14-15).  In that context of mutual correction and discipleship, it is important also to apply what Christ is saying here.  Only with our own experience of correction and growth could we successfully advise another, and with the proper understanding.  The very word in Greek for disciple means "learner," and we must remember that in this context.  Any way we look at it, we see that correction and growth within ourselves (in other words, learning) is the great thing necessary as disciples, and even as potential teachers or help to others who are brothers (and sisters) in the Church.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study Bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15), but this would also include Jews who do not practice virtue in the context of Christ's time and place (and audience).  According to the patristic writers, "dogs" are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while "swine" are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, which include Christ's teachings (Matthew 13:46) and the great sacraments.  These holy things, my study Bible explains, are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, not to protect the holy things themselves, for Christ needs no protection.  Rather, we protect the faithless people from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt (see also Luke 23:8-9, in which Jesus did not answer the questions of Herod Antipas).  If we view this verse in the context with the verses above it, we see also that one's "pearls" can also be teaching resulting from the work and spiritual growth of discipleship and personal correction, hard-gained through experience, which would be appropriate to those who truly desire discipleship, but a stark warning about those who do not.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."  My study Bible points out to us that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives:  "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  Note the synergy:  our effort is commanded, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  It says that we ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.

 

"Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study Bible comments that people are called evil not to condemn the whole race of human beings, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness in people (that is, our goodness is also mixed with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).  It notes that if imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, all the more will God work perfect good.

 

"Therefore, whatever you want me to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This "Golden Rule" fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets and it is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:39-40).  My study Bible describes it as a first step in spiritual growth.  The negative form of the Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was well known in Judaism.  Jesus' form is positive, as with so many of His "proactive" teachings:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God. 

 

We note how the "Golden Rule" -- "Therefore, whatever you want me to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" -- gives us a summing up and echo of so many of Jesus' teachings on mercy, on forgiveness, on judgment (as in the first verse in today's reading).  As we noted above, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus applies this teaching explicitly to mercy (Matthew 5:7), to forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15), and in today's reading, to judgment (see today's first and second verses:  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you").   All together, and in varied passages cited by my study Bible in notes on today's reading, Jesus will teach the same thing many times.  But we can see clearly the link between mercy, forgiveness, and good judgment (or, as in today's reading, refraining from bad judgment).  In John 7:24, this teaching becomes more explicit:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  In today's reading, the patristic exegetes remind us that what we so often judge in others are flaws we have in ourselves, and we're reminded that St. Paul explicitly says the same thing in Romans 2:1, where he really spells it out:  "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."   Taken altogether, as a whole these statements remind us about discipleship: that it's all about learning, discipline, correction, and growth.  That is, the whole of discipleship is learning to identify and remove that plank that is in our own eye, otherwise we can't really be truly helpful to others.  We'll just continue to project that plank in ourselves (to which we're blind) onto others.  We see this so often in public life that I feel I don't have to point out examples for any reader to know what I'm talking about.  In the context of Christ's clear instructions regarding discipleship under Him, such behavior is a sign of clear immaturity, and in particular, a complete lack of spiritual discipline and experience in that discipline.  The true disciple is not a hypocrite, but rather one who knows and undertakes to grow in spiritual discipline, in self-awareness, and in the correction of one's own flaws.  That true disciple is also one who is aware that as we judge others, so we are judged ourselves.  In action, this deeply implies the practice of the Golden Rule:  "Therefore, whatever you want me to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  In Luke 6:31, in the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus phrases it this way:  "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  Let us note that if our true desire is for discipleship and growth in Christ's model, with Himself as the life in which we seek to participate, finding our own image in Him, then what we want (a merciful judgment, a lifetime of learning and growth, the good things of God, and good teachings which help us to be corrected in love) is the gift of discipleship.  In that context, this is what we may also seek to offer to others when we profess His teachings.  In this context, however, we must also take to heart as true counsel what He says, not to share our pearls with those who have no use for them, cannot value them, and do not desire them, " lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  Those things that are precious pearls, the things that are holy, in Christ's words, are for those who desire to enter into discipleship, who are willing to take on the mantle of learning and growth and loving correction, and as we know from the whole of His teaching and the lives of the apostles and saints uncountable, this naturally includes a willingness to sacrifice and serve in order to fulfill the image in Christ He offers to us -- for the "hand" or "eye" we're asked to separate from ourselves (Matthew 5:29-30) is the flaw that keeps the whole of us from that growth in discipleship.  These all refer to aspects of selfishness or self-centeredness, a spiritual immaturity, that which is not compatible with the things that are holy, the fire of God's mercy and grace.  In all, He offers us a better life, a true focus, a way to go forward in which there is always the work to do which is right in front of us, as He seeks for us to become more like Him, "like God" (Genesis 1:26).  Let us hastily note that Jesus did not suffer fools gladly, and nor did He tolerate hypocrites.  He told the truth, and gave "what for what" when it was necessary.  But always this was in the context of His mission, of what He had to accomplish.  And He invites each of us in to take up that mission, to do what is necessary, to find the big things within us that we're blind to and make correction, to grow in His love and teachings, to challenge our own hypocrisy, and to pay attention to what is our business -- in this sense, it extends to forgetting about the "dogs" and "swine" who have no use for the things that are holy and the pearls of God's beauty, truth, and goodness.  Let us seek to practice what He teaches.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
 
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do for you, do also for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:   "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which if you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible remarks that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We ourselves have failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  It says that to pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse -- with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you -- is found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38.  Each is in a different context, as Jesus no doubt repeated this particular message many times. 

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."   Later on in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will offer a system of mutual correction in the Church as one that is good for the community (see 18:15-20).  So helpful corrective criticism is seen as a good, functional part of discipleship.  But Jesus here qualifies precisely how that works in discipleship.  We are not in a position to help others with correction if we ourselves have not been through the experience of correcting our own mistakes!  A hypocrite is the last thing Jesus wants and the first thing He repeatedly condemns.  It is only spiritual experience which has leavened and taught us that can help us to be wise enough (and humble enough) to help others in an appropriate way.  This requires the fullness of self-knowledge, and a constant seeking to be aware of and mindful of our own flaws.  Otherwise we really do not clearly "see" spiritually.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15).  However, this also includes Jews who do not practice virtue (keep in mind that Jesus is a Jew speaking to fellow Jews in preaching the Sermon on the Mount).  According to patristic opinion, dogs are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  Let us keep in mind that in the context of offering helpful correction in discipleship, this most definitely applies to the error of teaching to those who do not desire nor value such spiritual wisdom.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."  My study bible points out that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives.  This means that they more literally would be translated as "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."    It remarks on the synergy contained in this teaching:  our effort is commanded, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer; we seek by learning God's truth; we knock by doing God's will. 

"Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study bible comments that human beings are called evil not to condemn the whole of our species, but to contrast the imperfect goodness that is in people (that is, our goodness is mingled with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  It notes that if imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, so all the more will God work perfect good. 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do for you, do also for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."   This is called the "Golden Rule."  It fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  My study bible calls it a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).   It's a first step in spiritual growth.  It also reports that the negative form of the Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was already well known in Judaism.  But Jesus' form is positive:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God.

The note at the end of the reading for today tells us that the negative form of the Golden Rule was already known in Judaism.  But Jesus changes it to positive action.  And we can read with consistency this emphasis by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, found only at Luke 10:25-37.  In that parable, a man -- who is a stranger and foreigner -- takes his own initiative to help someone who is hurt, incorporating the concept of "neighbor" to someone outside of his own community and in effect creates a "neighbor" relationship where there was none.  Sometimes there are times where we can't apply the Golden Rule literally, and Jesus also addresses that above.  If we would invite real spiritual correction (constructive and helpful), that may not be the case with everybody!  Hence, Jesus' warning about giving what is holy to dogs, or casting our pearls before swine.  Not everybody wants what is holy nor the wisdom of spiritual growth and understanding, and it is these of whom Jesus warns to maintain a distance in the context of the teaching.  So at all times what we have with Jesus is neither absolute "rules" to follow to the letter nor do we have esoteric and fuzzy idealistic philosophies or abstract concepts.  Instead, Jesus gives us pragmatic, simple, and wise down-to-earth advice that always bears a hallmark of experience.  And I think this is most important.  Jesus invites us also to discernment with His teachings -- He wants us to truly see and to learn how to perceive correctly.  Moreover, discipleship is a process of growing.  As is often said, our faith is a journey.  Throughout the Gospels, we are given a picture of the journey of the disciples as they become apostles and grow into their roles -- even through painful lessons --  as the pillars of the Church.   We are not simply offered abstract ideals and philosophies, nor are we given legalistic rules.  Our faith is a pragmatic one, which invites us to grow through spiritual experience and work at life in this blessed place of the Kingdom Christ opens to us.  Neither does it have impossible expectations, but rather offers us glimpses of the reality of the human condition:  both what we are and what we can be.  It doesn't flinch from the evil in the world.  It asks us to live and endure and to know for ourselves the Kingdom's blessedness, and to participate in Christ's life and sacrifice and resurrection.  Let us pay careful attention, step by step, and learn in God's love, where God's help is always at hand through it all.  So we ask, and seek, and knock, as He says.  Christ did not come into the world to fix it and be done.  Rather, He invites us into His life and the struggle for faith, with Him.  Above all, these teachings have stood the test of time and have not failed us in their truth.  Let us continue to learn and grow.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

Eucharistic Vine and Doves, 6th century, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  My study bible says that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are often guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  It says that to pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse is found elsewhere as well, in Mark 4:24, and in Luke 6:38 -- but each is in a different context.  The idea of reciprocal expectation is repeated in different contexts, indicating its centrality to Jesus' preaching.  In this case, it's about judgment and criticism.  Jesus' example of the speck and the plank asks us to focus on our own need for repentance and change, before we consider even helping others.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study bible tells us that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15), but also that this would include Jews who fail to practice virtue.  According to commentary from the Church Fathers, "dogs" are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and "swine" and those who habitually engage in immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, my study bible says, which include Christ's teachings (13:46) as well as the great sacraments.  It adds that these holy things are restricted from those who are immoral and unrepentant, not in order to protect the holy things, as Christ needs no protection.  Instead, faithless people are protected from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study bible points out that the verbs for ask, seek, and knock are given as present progressives, with the meaning, "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."    It notes the synergy involved:  Christ commands our efforts, but never separately from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer.  We seek by learning God's truth.  We knock by pursuing God's will.  Jesus says, "If you then, being evil . . .."   In this context, it's not a condemnation of humankind, but rather contrasts the imperfect goodness of human beings (meaning that our goodness is also mixed with imperfection, with sin) to the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  If imperfect or even wicked people can do some good, it says, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Again, Jesus gives us a type of reciprocal prescription for behavior; this verse is known as the Golden Rule.  It fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  My study bible calls it a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).  It adds that this is a first step in spiritual growth.  The negative form of this Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was already well known in Judaism, but Jesus gives us a positive, pro active form of the rule.  This is the action that draws us toward God.  This Golden Rule is also the principle at work in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

There is an interesting balance in today's reading:  Jesus gives us things we're told not to do, and then positive prescriptions for things we are actively to do.  First, we're warned about judgment.  As is usual for Jesus, there's a message behind this teaching, that's not quite obvious.  We use judgment all the time to assess a situation, or to make a plan.  But Jesus' emphasis here is on self-knowledge -- about the importance of our own awareness of personal flaws.  In other words, the more we focus on others, the less likely we are to understand that we might share the same flaws.  This is a deep psychological insight on the common problem called "projection."  We tend to project our own flaws onto others.  Jesus calls us to a deep awareness of our own need for change, for repentance, and awareness of our own imperfections as focus.  For, after all, even if one is to have a positive effect on others through a constructive kind of criticism, the only really effective way to do that is through a prepared experience of dealing with our own flaws first.  This gives us maturity.  In the context of faith, it gives us spiritual maturity.  The only truly good spiritual director is going to be one with loads of experience regarding their own imperfections and fallibility.  Only then, with such awareness, do we have the real and necessary insight to help others positively to deal with their problems.  Needless to say, the bedrock of Christ's persona, teachings, and gift to us is compassion.  Without this experience, we will lack the appropriate compassion it takes to be really helpful, even if our criticism is constructive and true.  By speaking of the plank in our own eye, Christ cautions that our own flaws  may be many times greater than the ones we see in others.  Then we are given another negative teaching:  do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine.  This is important to be taken in the context of giving advice or being helpful to others.  There is meant to be a great caution against investment in those who are not ready to hear what we are offering.  This follows in the subject of "constructive criticism" or spiritual direction, and how we approach others with our faith.  Jesus tells us there are those who are simply not ready to hear it, those who cannot hear it, and those who will respond with rage and abuse to what is truly beautiful -- the spiritual teachings He offers.  He is warning us about the realities of the spiritual life:  that it is not up to us to "save" everybody.  In fact, we cannot do so.  He couples the sobering, reality-based understanding that we may have hidden flaws which are not only greater than the problems we see in others, but also that we must look carefully before we offer the beauties of spiritual life, insight, and faith to those who will not responsibly accept what is offered, and who might be incapable of doing so.  In the context of discipleship, we must keep in mind that Jesus speaks to those who would follow Him, and for whom evangelism will be an important piece of their own lives on some level.   Then the positive commandments come.  In the context of what He has already taught, we are all told that we must keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.  Our spiritual life is meant to continually grow.  In this way, we will come to know ourselves better and our own flaws, so that we can practice repentance on deepening levels.  We will come to know the pearls found in our own faith more truly and deeply, and be able to live them and put them to work in our own lives.  We are continually to seek expansion within our faith and spiritual life.  So important is this teaching, that He includes a depth of promise in emphatic ways:  our Father in heaven loves us so that if we cannot imagine a good worldly father refusing such effort, we know our heavenly Father will surely respond in turn with positive reward, and opening to greater, deeper personal growth in faith.  Jesus ends with the positive and proactive teaching known as the Golden Rule.  What we would like in our lives for others to do for us, so we are to do for others.  It is a reminder that the righteous life is a choice, one in which we choose to engage and actively participate.  Let us remember both His warnings and also the things Christ exhorts us to do!  When there is seemingly nothing before us, we are always to keep asking, seeking, and knocking -- and to practice proactively His Golden Rule.  This is the way of life He teaches to us to do.

Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapter 5 - 7.  Today's reading begins chapter 7.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught:  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient to the day is its own trouble."

"Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible says that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the very things that we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We ourselves have failed in repentance, it says, and in fleeing from sin.  When we pass judgment upon others we assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse is found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:28, each of which is in a different context.  Jesus no doubt repeated this message many times, an important teaching about our own discipleship, also echoed in His earlier teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about forgiveness (see Tuesday's reading).

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Again, there is more here regarding our own level of discipleship.  There is room in the Church for mutual correction; in fact, Jesus will recommend it (Matthew 18:15-17).  But here He's warning against judgment, which is a different thing.  If we are not practicing ourselves an awareness of our own dark "specks" or even "planks" then we have no business thinking we have a good capacity for judgment, for "seeing" what is needful or even for understanding how to help.  Spiritual discernment and guidance is meant for help and support, not judgment, and given in love.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."  My study bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but it would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to patristic teaching, dogs are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls, my study bible says, are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, which include Christ's teachings (13:46) and also the great sacraments.  These holy things are restricted from the unrepentant, not in order to protect the holy things themselves.  Christ needs no protection.  Instead, faithless people are thus protected from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  In the context of the previous teaching, these words would also apply to a holy correction, which is lost on those who have mere contempt for holy things, including wisdom.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  The verbs ask, seek, and knock are what are called present progressives.  Their translation would literally be closer to "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here which my study bible notes.  Our effort is command but it is never apart from the immediate help of God.  This is most essential for us to understand.  We ask in prayer, we seek by learning God's truth, and we knock by doing God's will.  Human beings are called evil here not to condemn everyone, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness in people (where each of us has corrections to make) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, my study bible says, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  My study bible tells us that the "Golden Rule," which Jesus states here, fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets and is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).  It's a first step toward spiritual growth.  The negative form of the Golden Rule ("Don't do to other what you don't want them to do to you") was well-known already in Judaism.  But Jesus' form here is positive, it evokes our initiative.  It is the action that begins to draw us toward God.  Again, we note the reciprocity evoked consistently in His teachings throughout this Sermon. 

Jesus asks us to take the initiative.  Or perhaps more accurately, He places a lot of emphasis on what we choose to do.  We must forgive or we won't realize our own forgiveness (6:14-15)  Here we're commanded to keep asking and seeking and knocking.  Whatever we want others to do to us, that's what we must do also to them.  Jesus calls this the summing up of the Law and the Prophets.  We're told that how we judge will determine how we are judged.  And this reciprocity also includes admonitions in the negative:  "Judge not."  "Do not give what is holy to the dogs."  We're not to speak about our brothers' flaws unless we're aware of our own!  We can't practice correction properly if we aren't also experienced in our own correction and have made consistent efforts at this practice.  In today's world, we see a lot of things that go in complete contrast to Jesus' teachings here.  While Jesus tells us that we must practice the same righteousness with which we wish to be treated, bullying and condemnation and retribution seem to pervade our media on every level we can turn to.  One person's perceived harsh action is good for endless reciprocal treatment, endless judgment and punishment.  This is not Christ's teaching.  Discipleship is called discipleship for a reason.   It demands of us adherence to His word and values, and forward movement, eyes focused on a particular direction.  Not only are we responsible for what we do; that is, we can't blame our bad actions on those of another -- but we are also called repeatedly to sharp awareness that what we do, we will reap.  That is, that so much depends upon our own initiative in discipleship, in His kind of discipline.  He asks us to watch our words.  He asks of us to practice forgiveness.  He asks of us to be aware and practice our own correction, and only then will we understand the correction of others properly.  Note that we are also to be aware of those who cannot accept the wisdom He gives us.  He asks us to spend our time occupied in asking and seeking and knocking at the door of holiness, seeking the Kingdom of heaven, asking in prayer.  It is similar to what we read yesterday, in which Jesus taught that we have a basic choice to make about what we will love, and that will carry over into the rest of our lives.  Jesus asks us to occupy our time and efforts with a particular focus here, dwelling on the things of God, our concern with discipleship -- and to steer clear of that which is outside of it, not to become entangled with "friends" who'd trample us down for our love of what is holy, for seeking the things of God.  How do we practice the love of God?  How do we practice discipleship?  "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."   For those who love Christ, that would include loving correction, a great learning curve, a particular road of devotion.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began with chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel and the Beatitudes.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

"Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Jesus repeats a theme He has expressed earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, and is a part of the prayer He gave, which we call the Lord's Prayer or Our Father.   In the prayer, He linked the practice of forgiveness with the receiving of forgiveness.  Here He links God's judgment with our judgment.  Both are related to the practice of mercy and the righteousness of the Kingdom.  My study bible says that we will be judged with our own level of judgment, because we are guilty of the very things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We have also failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  To pass judgment, it says, is to assume God's authority.  Parts of this section are also found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each in a different context.  There is no doubt that this message was repeated by Jesus many times.  To give correction to one another in the Church is viewed positively as guidance, but this is only possible for one who has been through considerable maturity in repentance and is actively engaged in self-awareness; only then can we truly help others.  Otherwise, we are blind to the plank in our own eye.  This is also related to the practice of mercy and "good judgment."

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  This is another call to discernment, to good judgment, and how to wisely use our capacity for mercy.  Dogs and swine, my study bible says, refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but it would also apply to Jews who do not practice virtue.  (Of course, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is preaching to fellow Jews.)  According to Church Fathers, dogs are those so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including Jesus' teachings (13:46) and the great sacraments.  These holy things, my study bible says, are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, but not in order to protect the holy things themselves, because Christ does not need our protection.  Rather, it says, spiritually we protect the faithless from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  This is also a command for understanding the nature of the work of the Kingdom and the world in which we live, similar to Christ's command to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (in 10:16).

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  In the Greek, ask, seek, and knock are used as present progressives.  That is, what Jesus is saying here is "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here that is important to understand:  He is commanding our effort, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in our prayer, my study bible says; we seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.  Jesus calls man evil not in condemnation of human beings, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness in people (our goodness is mixed with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, my study bible says, then all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This "Golden Rule" fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  It is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).  This is a first step in spiritual growth, my study bible says.  There is a negative form of the Golden Rule that was well-known in Judaism:  "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."  Jesus uses a positive form to imply our proactive action.  This action begins to draw us toward God.

Jesus frequently puts us in a place where we have a proactive choice to be a part of this Kingdom, to practice the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven (which is the theme of the Sermon on the Mount).  As my study bible points out about the last verse in today's reading, this is a positive form of a saying that was already well-known in Judaism.  The well-known phrase was about refraining from certain actions or impulses:  "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."  But Jesus gives us an active positive form, one that gives us impetus to take an initiative.  This isn't unusual for Jesus.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), He teaches us to take an active role in being a true neighbor.  That proactive teaching is also linked to Jesus' teachings on mercy in the Sermon on the Mount.  When Jesus asks the lawyer in the story of the Good Samaritan, "Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  The man answers, "He who showed mercy on him."  And then Jesus commands:  "Go and do likewise."   He gives us the means whereby we can be true neighbors.  Another common theme in Jesus' teaching is about exchange.  He tells us, "With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  As mentioned above, He gave us a similar formula twice in the teaching of the Lord's Prayer:  once formally in the prayer ("And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors") and again right after the prayer ("For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses").  In the latter case, we notice that there is both a positive and negative correlation to this exchange; when we forgive, we'll be forgiven -- and when we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven.  Altogether, He's giving us a positive way to approach our faith.  That is, we don't depend upon others in order to practice our faith.  We have ways, even in isolation, of being followers of Christ.  Our neighbors do not all have to agree with us.  Neither do we need to wait for others to "do the right thing" before we follow His commands.  Let us carefully note, however, His warning (and it's a negative command):  "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  He wants us to be discerning in the practice of our faith; neither do we need to "enlighten" anyone who does not choose to participate in the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.  He tells us that we do so at our own peril.  Indeed, the way He puts it gives us the impression that this is impossible.  It is because this righteousness is not merely outward; it is a righteousness of the heart.  That is one more way of emphasizing the proactive nature of this faith:  it is simply up to us to put into practice what He teaches us.  We must be motivated within our own hearts.  And here is the most active command of all:  "Ask . . . seek . . . knock."  We remember the true tone of these verbs:  be asking, be seeking, be knocking.  Amidst the realities of daily life and its difficulties, these are things we can always be doing, and He commands us to do so.  They are the things that bring us a fuller faith, a deeper participation in the Kingdom, a closer communion with God.  We are not barred from seeking this Kingdom by any obstacle the world may throw in our way.  God responds to those who truly desire understanding and participation in this life.   This is both a command and a promise:  "For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."    It has also been the experience of the Church and its saints for 2,000 years.  Finally, there is one last command we have to take into account:  "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  This is the command for a lifelong process of repentance, and the need for self-awareness.  There will always be things we need to discover about ourselves, ways in which we have to come to know ourselves and our lives, and exchange the past for the righteousness of the Kingdom.  Implications in these teachings include a sense of freedom for human beings.  We all have the plank in our own eye we may not understand; nevertheless, His commands teach us that we are free to make choices.   The question is how we will use that ability to do as He asks and teaches.

Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

 We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began in chapter 5 with The Beatitudes.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?   So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

"Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible says that we'll be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the very things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  To pass judgment in this context is to usurp God's authority, and indicates that Jesus is telling us about how we are to see others and refrain from judging with a sweeping indictment of the full person, rather than seeing error or sin (which we all fall into one way and another!).   Jesus repeats the second part of verse 2 in Mark 4:24 and also Luke 6:38, each given in a different context.   Such occurrences give us glimpses not only into Jesus' teaching but also consistency of message and application; this particular message was no doubt repeated many times.  It is an important observation of a kind of reflexive teaching, particularly about judgment.  So much depends on what we see, and what we are blind to.  Just as we have been taught to forgive our debtors so that we may be forgiven, and to forgive others their trespasses against us so that we may be forgiven (Matthew 6:12, 14-15), here we also have a reciprocal teaching by Jesus regarding our own judgment.

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  This is a teaching about correction within the Church.  To be unable to see one's own blindness is to fail to be a capable teacher or help to others.  And this is a teaching that precludes "judgment."   To know our own weakness is the only way to truly relate to those who also need help with what we have experienced of ourselves, and the spiritual work we've done in following Christ.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  Jesus elsewhere uses animal symbolism (serpents and scorpions) to indicate types of demons and devils (Luke 10:19).  Dogs and swine are used symbolically to refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but this would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to the traditional teachings of Church Fathers, dogs are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are of course the wisdom of faith, the "inner mysteries" as my study bible tells us, including the teachings of Christ (13:46) and the great sacraments.  Such holy things are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, says my study bible, not because the holy things need protection, but because faithless people are protected from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  In another sense, this is also a teaching about judgment -- to correct or reprove by giving truthful teachings to those who don't want to hear it is to engage in entanglements that lead to a bad outcome; not only is it failing to cherish what is valuable and good, it will enmesh us with what devalues it.   So there's a double teaching here regarding correction and edification:  they must go where they are appropriate and will be received.  Instead of judgment, Christ calls for our discernment.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?"  Here the verbs ask, seek and knock are given in the present progressive tense:  that is, Jesus tells us to "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  My study bible points out a synergy here -- that our effort is commanded by Christ, but is never separate from the immediate help of God.  A note says, "We ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will." 

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  Human beings are called evil here not to condemn, but rather to contrast our imperfect goodness (mixed with blindness, sin or error) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  My study bible says that if imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This "Golden Rule," says my study bible, fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets and is also a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40), a first step of spiritual growth.  The negative form of this rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was already well-known in Judaism.  Jesus' puts it in positive form -- as action that begins to draw us toward God.  He will illustrate the positive form with the parable of the Good Samaritan, as well as many vivid teachings.  Again, the reciprocal nature of our spiritual being is emphasized.

Jesus' teachings about how our own choices work hand in hand with God's favor or blessings give us a picture of our own participation in salvation.  It doesn't diminish our understanding of grace and its role in our lives on all levels.  Rather, what it does is give us a sense of how our own choices and actions work in synergy with God.  Once again, as we have so often turned throughout our understanding of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a picture of the Incarnation.  As He is both God and man, so He calls on us to recognize the essential nature of our choices in the relationship with God.  We participate.  We are included.  We must watch how we judge:  how we practice judgment will be reflected in how we are judged (and we must infer, how we will come to know our own salvation).  If, after all, forgiveness is already extended in the teachings of Christ, I think His emphasis on our own choices in these teaches really tells us about how we come to realize and know that forgiveness.  Just as we have been taught that we forgive debt and trespass so that we ask for the same from God, clearly the emphasis is on human participation with God in discernment and virtue.   When we are taught to ask, and seek, and knock, Jesus is clearly giving us the "green signal" for our own efforts at coming to know God; to pray, to seek understanding of the teachings, and to do God's will become a pathway to the fullness of communion and relationship -- the real bridge that brings the Kingdom into the world.  Above all, Jesus' teachings suggest an elevation of human beings in our own capacity to be "God-like" -- that is, to embody the virtues of forgiveness, of discernment,  to do good, to come to self-knowledge, as well as our capacity to refrain from unjust judgment.  Our participation in the Kingdom then becomes something bigger, heightened from a kind of isolated individual "good behavior."  It becomes communion and relationship with God and with one another, an extraordinary responsibility we're given that only tells us how elevated we are in the sight of God, and how beloved.  Switching from the negative "do not do unto others" to the positive "do unto others" is a sign of this confidence, it's an entry into a bigger choice, a participation to "be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect."  It's an invitation to initiative, rather than just following prohibition.  Can we meet the challenge?  Are we ready for His confidence in us and in our capacities to live His word? Of course, what we receive in return is so much greater; and yet, so much hinges on our own "little" efforts.

Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  We began with the Beatitudes, then we read You are the salt of the earth, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill, Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, Let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, Pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly, Our Father in heaven and You cannot serve God and mammon.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus warned about the high cost of a material outlook, and its toll of anxiety:  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for to tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."   Jesus turns again to the theme of hypocrisy, which has already been touched upon in this Sermon (see Thursday's reading, Pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly).  Here, He emphasizes that with the same level of judgment we use, we will also be judged.  Romans 2:1 cautions that often we condemn ourselves, because we're guilty of the same things that we judge in others.  My study bible reminds us that we all need some type of repentance and to flee from sin.   Jesus repeats His second statement in Mark 4:24, and in Luke 6:38.  Notably, both are used in different contexts to this.  This assures us that Jesus' message was preached in a number of settings, and that this teaching remains applicable in all sorts of situations.  Here, the emphasis is again against hypocrisy.   Let us note, this isn't a blanket command to ignore what's wrong or cover up sin.  Rather, we're to take care of our own flaws -- and only then can we help others (to see their much smaller errors!).

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  It may seem a strange juxtaposition if we don't read carefully here:  how can Christ tell us not to judge, and then turn around and tell us not to give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast pearls before swine?   The real answer is that He's teaching us about real discernment, good judgment, and warning us against our own hypocrisy in order that we may be pure in heart enough to do so.  My study bible says that dogs and swine are terms used to refer to heathen peoples and also those who work evil and practice idolatry (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15), but would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to the tradition of Church Fathers, dogs are people so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including Christ's teachings (13:46) and the sacraments.   This is a strong warning to practice discernment.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"   What are these good things Jesus speaks about?  They are the very mysteries of the Kingdom and gifts of the Spirit, the pearls He speaks of above.   My study bible tells us that the verbs ask, seek and knock are present progressives in form.  That is, they tells us to "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  This is a constant process, like prayer is a ceaseless endeavor (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17).   A note tells us to note the synergy here:  our effort is commanded, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  It says, "We ask in prayer; seek by learning Gods' truth; and knock by doing God's will."  When Jesus says "you then, being evil" He's not condemning all human beings, but contrasting our imperfect goodness with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).   My study bible says, "If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, all the more will God work perfect good."

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Here is the "Golden Rule."  it fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  It's a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (see Matthew 22:39-40).  My study bible calls this a first step in spiritual growth.  In Judaism, it says, the negative form of this statement was well known -- "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."  Jesus' form is position; my study bible says that this is the action that begins to draw us toward God.

It's important to think of the "Golden Rule" in terms of focusing on what we want.  If we're messing up, do we want to be told?  How do we want to know these things?   What's our real goal?  It's important to keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to those who would be His disciples.  His focus is always going to be on our own spiritual growth, our growth in the image of God He gives us.  This is not about declaring ourselves or anyone else perfect as we are.  It's about being on a road somewhere.  Jesus teaches us about purity of heart, what we must do to really understand what discernment is, to judge appropriately.  He is teaching us love.  He is telling us what spiritual gifts (pearls) are for, how we might grow in such discipleship.  Hypocrisy is a key negative -- it's something no disciple of Christ can really afford.  What that teaches us is that God's beauty and goodness is always linked to truth, a love for truth.  It furthermore reinforces the idea that we can't do this on our own; there's always the synergy my study bible speaks of.  We work hand in hand -- or rather this is about God at work in us.  We are to grow in love.  Later on, Jesus will give a formula for self-correction in the Church; to remove a speck from the eye of another is to help someone else to see.  We are only going to be good at that with the experience of spiritual growth ourselves, casting out the (much larger!) plank from our own eye.  And we don't waste our time on those who don't want this.  Can we get on board this bandwagon?  Can we follow His commands for discipleship?  What do we really want?