If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!

 

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 

-  Luke 19:41-48

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus told the parable of the Minas to His disciples, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 

  Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  My study Bible explains that the name Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  It's only faith in Christ that brings true peace.  This is a truth hidden from a city that will soon rebel against its Savior.  My study Bible further explains that there are two kinds of peace.  One is a false or shallow peace; harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth or from a repressive coercion.  Genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  The destruction of Jerusalem, here predicted by Jesus, would occur in AD 70.  My study Bible says that this also describes the spiritual end of every person who lacks faith. 

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals which were to be used for sacrifices.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it's also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters. 

 

It's important to observe that the text presents us with the various layers of social conflict around Jesus.  While Jesus is teaching daily in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him.  The elites at the top, those who administer and regulate the faith and hold positions of high authority, are seeking to destroy Him at the time of the Passover, in this final week of Christ's earthly life.  At the same time, this coalition of the powerful were unable to do anything, because all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  It's interesting to note the power of the people in this presentation.  It is "all the people" who wish to listen to Jesus and hear what He has to teach.  Presumably, we can read into this statement that the people seek to know truth, regardless of the concerted effort from the powerful entities above who wish to control how people worship and how they practice their faith.  Clearly, the cleansing of the temple by Jesus points to practices He finds to be objectionable and corrupt, especially the practices involved in the collection of money and the ways that the things necessary for sacrifice become used to gather wealth and profit.  In the other Gospels we read vivid descriptions of Christ driving out the money changers.  These are people who exchanged Roman coins for Jewish coins to be used in the temple, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar and so were considered to be defiling in the temple. But no doubt this exchange opened the door for profiteering from pilgrims who come for the Passover.  The texts also speak specifically of Christ chastising and targeting those who sold doves in the temple (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, John 2:14-16).  Doves were the least expensive and therefore affordable sacrifice for the poor; to profit off the poor is an insult to Christ and to traditional Jewish spiritual sensibility, in the understanding that God loves the poor.  As Messiah, Jesus' great act of cleansing the temple is the first He undertakes as He's made His Triumphal Entry into the city.  It's the first great act of authority He makes, and the one vivid action of force we see Him expressing in the Gospels.  He will certainly be immediately questioned regarding His authority to do so by the religious leaders.  But nonetheless, as the Gospels tell the story, none of their power can completely avail them of the ability to suppress the gospel message and the ministry of Christ.  There is expressed in the story of Christ the deep, almost organic tie between an unstoppable truth and the faith of the people that draws them to that truth in Christ.  They long to hear Him, and the religious authorities must fear that deep desire on the part of the people, for the Roman authorities will look askance at any instability among the people under their rule.   Christ speaks truth directly to the hearts of people who are receptive to it, who will respond with faith, with trust (the root meaning of the word for "faith" in the Gospels).  The rigid control of the authorities, and their corrupt practices, cannot long withstand that truth -- and this is the dynamic at work which will culminate in Christ's prophesied destruction of Jerusalem.  It is the unseen world of the Kingdom, of the holiness which Christ brings into the world, that challenges the structures of manipulation, the materialist power of "mammon," and the people whose hearts are open to it, and deeply desire it, will respond.  The religious leaders can already see that, but they cannot foresee its power and lasting impact remaining in the world to come.  Christ reveals to us the reality of the Kingdom, and may we continue to live and dwell within that reality, despite those who might wish to deny it today.   That is, those for whom these things remain hidden from their eyes.  For we still need to recognize the time of our visitation, and the things that make for our peace.

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

- John 7:1-13

Yesterday we read that many of Christ's disciples, when they heard His teaching on His flesh and blood, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And he said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one cane come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  John's Gospel has just given us the report of events that occurred during the second Passover Festival in Jesus' Ministry (chapter 6).  By this time, the leadership in Jerusalem seeks to kill Him.  My study bible reminds us that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews is used as a political term, to refer to the leadership and not to the people.  Jesus and His followers are devout Jews.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The following section of John's Gospel (7:1-10:21) entails Christ's time in Jerusalem spent at the Feast of Tabernacles.  The entire section covers eight days, the duration of the Feast.  My study bible remarks that at this festival during the last year of Christ's earthly life, He taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention.  As we will read, some thought Him mad (verse 20), others believed that He was the Messiah (vv. 31, 40), and yet others (among them, the Sadducees and Pharisees) thought Him to be a threat (vv.32, 45-52).  The Feast of Tabernacles (in Hebrew Succoth or Sukkot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents, also called tabernacles, from the Greek.  Together with Passover and the Old Testament Pentecost (also called the Feast of Weeks), this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  This festival included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  By the time of Christ, my study bible says, the final day of this feast also included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  It also included the lighting of the great lamps (menorah) in the outer court of the temple.  Jesus will draw upon images from all of these elements of the festival in His teachings and sermons during this time.

His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  In the common parlance of the region (and across the Middle East today), brothers can be used to mean cousins and other extended family.  These "brothers" of Jesus are likely either cousins or step-brothers, children of Joseph by an earlier marriage.  The Gospel makes it clear how little support or faith Jesus really has at this point, particularly from extended family and those of His hometown.  His time will be the time of His Passion, when He goes to the Cross, death, and Resurrection.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  Not openly, my study bible says, means that Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem with a grand, public entrance, as He would do on Palm Sunday (12:12-16).  The Gospel gives us the political atmosphere of fear and intrigue, with the violence of the leadership thinly hidden in the background.  Jesus is sought at the feast by the leadership, and many among the people complain about Him.  The people are divided:  some say He is good, and others that He deceives.  But all are in fear of the leaders, and so no one speaks openly.

John's Gospel is almost like a film noir version of the events of Christ's ministry, if I may be so bold as to use that term.  The reason I use that term is because we can see, laid out for us without mitigating softness, is all the motivations and conflicting impulses and desires of the people who make up the Gospel.  The central figure is Christ Himself, about whom rumors swirl, hostile action is plotted to destroy Him, followers struggle to keep up with what He teaches them, and stumbling blocks abound to the faith which He declares and the identity He reveals.  It is particularly in John's Gospel that we are given motivations in the heart, and Christ's full wisdom that includes awareness of deception, betrayal, and lack of good faith.  All of the Gospels give us Christ's condemnation of the hypocrisy of the leadership, they tell of the betrayal that will come even from one of the twelve, and they do not flinch in telling us about the evil and violence that will befall this most innocent of all human beings.  But John gives us a kind of step-by-step incursion of the cynicism of Christ's own extended family, the ridicule He faces, the struggle as many leave Him for His "hard saying" about His body and blood (in yesterday's reading, above).  Our faith does not ask us to believe in fairy tales.  It gives us the full and clear version of the struggle for faith, of Christ's mission into the world in the flesh of His Incarnation.  It lays out the clear facts of betrayal, and it teaches us that victory is not always evident -- and certainly not to the blind nor the willfully ignorant on matters of faith.  We are not misled about the work of evil in the world, and the effects of selfish impulse on human beings.  Against these things we struggle, and more.  As St. Paul will say, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  John's Gospel suggests the images of film noir in its emphasis on darkness and light, and its clear understanding of the struggles that would come to the early Church and the persecutions that would follow.  But amidst that stark reality, we are also given the greatest transcendence of any literature in the world.  Christ assures us, twice already, that it is the Father who works in us to bring us to faith in Christ (6:44-45, 65).  The disciples, in their faith, and even eventually in their own stumbling (such as Peter's denials of Christ during His trial), come to the full enlightenment of understanding, and go on to their own heroic ministries carrying the faith to others.  Despite all the obstacles, the power of the living word will go out to the known world within a generation.  And it is John's Gospel that gives us Jesus' words and teachings on love, unparalleled in their depth of revelation of the real nature of God and the personal intimacy of our lives with God.  It is in John's Gospel that the Lord calls the faithful His friends and declares His willingness to go to death for His love for them (15:13).  It is John's Gospel that tells us that the saving mission of Christ is for the life of the world (3:17).  This Gospel speaks of the victory of the light, and the darkness that cannot and does not comprehend nor overcome it.  All in all, we are called, through the very rigorous eyes-wide-open nature of what is written and revealed here, to a transcendent capacity for love, for faith, for truth.  It is as if Christ's very confidence in us is only strengthened in the truth of the violence of Crucifixion, the easy hatred of the mob, the evidence of misleading and self-betraying passions, the delusion of manipulation and betrayal of the good, the terrible fear of death  These things all remain all-too-truly with us.  It is Christ who calls us to our potentials in Him, through the faith He offers and our capacity for participation in Father, Son, and Spirit through His saving ministry and acts.  Let us pay attention and heed that call, no matter what the circumstances and what we see around us.

Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things

 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

- Luke 20:1-8

Yesterday we read that as Jesus drew near Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation."  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  The chief priests, scribes, and elders confront Jesus about these things He has been doing.  These things, my study bible says, refers to Christ's Triumphal entry into Jerusalem as Messiah (Thursday's reading), the cleansing of the temple (yesterday's reading, above), and His preaching (verse 1 in today's reading).  My study bible adds that the elders confront Jesus as it was the duty of the priestly descendants of Levi to manage the temple.  Christ was descended from Judah (3:33), but He is the High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4), a priestly line which is far greater than that of Levi, as His authority is from God the Father.   We note Jesus' style of argument:  if they don't bother to seek and give a true answer, why should He tell them the answer to their question?

I once heard of a very aged and extremely wealthy (self-made) man whose competence was being challenged in a courtroom.  An attorney for the party who wanted control of elderly man's wealth asked him if he knew what day it was.  He replied, "If you don't know what day it is, why should I tell you?"  Needless to say, there was nothing wrong with his mental abilities.  Jesus' answer gives us a sense in which we are given to understand that those asking the question aren't doing so with an honest intent.  They wish to trap Jesus.  They have their own agenda, and it has to do with the desire to strip Jesus of any sort of authority whatsoever, and restore their own singular authority.  The only reason they cannot do so is because they fear the public.  Consequently, their response to Christ's question has only to do with their fear of the public, their own need to protect their authority, and not an honest search for an honest answer.   Jesus responds in the same way.  If they consider their non-answer good enough to give to Him, so neither will He trouble to tell them the answer to the question they pose to Him.  We might find this a bit petulant.  After all, they are the ones charged with the hereditary duties of managing the temple.  But, looking a bit more closely, we have to come to understand the seriousness of the question, and their complete lack of respect for the true authority they claim to represent.  If it is, after all, God working through John the Baptist, is this not the most sobering question the leaders can be asked?  Does it not require of them something more than an answer made in fear of how the public will respond?  And there, I think, we get to the heart of today's reading.  These men are not assuming the true authority with which they've been given.  They act only out of concern for the face they present to the public, in order to hold onto their positions.  They act consistently with what today we'd deem a public relations perspective, and the nature of the authority of God is somewhere far away from their real considerations.  It is that absence of the grave nature of the question here that deems Christ's answer the only fitting one for those who quiz Him.  It is they who are not taking their own responsibilities for authority in the temple with the true seriousness it requires.  Just like the life and autonomy of the man whose immense fortune was subject to legal manipulation by someone he once trusted, the powerful nature of the true subject at stake here is being overlooked and treated with contempt.  Indeed, the authority of God, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, is the most serious subject we can undertake.  The reality of the presence and authority of God is not subject to manipulation, like a commodity one wants to cheat out of another, or a kind of treasure one hides and controls.  The truth of the authority and presence of God is as precious as one's life, as important as the true nature of the soul and its need for what God reaches out to give.  Jesus teaches us that those who do not have this deep concern at heart cannot be true shepherds.  Those who wish to take away the compelling presence of the authority of God and diminish it cannot be those who love the flock.  There is one thing required first, and that is the love of God with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength, and this must be particularly true of those who bear authority in the faith, and who are charged with overseeing the spiritual welfare of the people.  How do we know our Shepherd is true?  With whom do we place our trust?   In Matthew's Gospel, amidst accusations about the hypocrisy of the leadership, Jesus tells His disciples, "But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  What this leadership lacks is the sufficient humility to treat the subject of their questions -- God's authority -- with the deference it requires.   Their motivation is not a deep reverence for God, but a desire to protect their places among human beings.  In the first Epistle of St. John the Evangelist, he warns Christ's followers, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,  and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world" (1 John 4:1-3).  Christ teaches us not to be slaves, but intelligent sheep.  We are given the Gospels and His word.  Let us take at least as seriously the question of holy authority as He does, and put the love of God first before everything else.

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

- John 7:37-52

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"   The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  The last day, that great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day there is a ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  It provides the backdrop and context for Christ's teaching, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water of which He speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life which accompanies this gift.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  The Prophet is a name for the expected Messiah, the Savior who was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The Christ was expected to come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), descended from the lineage of David.   The ongoing debate over Galilee results from the people's understanding that Jesus is from Galilee, and their unawareness that He was in fact born in Bethlehem.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  The chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above, verse 32).  Now ti is the last day of this eight-day feast, and no arrest has been made, as the officers were converted by Christ's teaching.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on this passage.  He writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the contrary, although they can claim none of the learning of the leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, is the one who had spoken with Jesus in secret at night (3:1-21).  Since that time, he has increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus to his fellow members of the Council is still based on our law; this is not yet a public profession of faith in Christ, which will come later on as he and Joseph of Arimathea, another wealthy member of the Council, prepare Christ for burial after the Crucifixion (19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus has to be given a hearing before He is judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  Meanwhile, the Pharisees here show disregard for the law in their blind hatred, and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  Jonah the prophet came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, just three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 


What are we to make of all the dissension and disagreement, argument and turmoil that surround Jesus?  The crowds are confused and there is a division among the people because of Him, the Gospel tells us.  But if we look closely, that same division is making itself known among the ruling classes and leaders as well.  The officers sent to arrest Jesus have failed to do so, so overwhelmed are they by His teaching.  The leadership as well have divisions.  As united and fully vested in resentment and outrage as they appear to be, there is dissension among them.  Nicodemus reminds them that the law does not judge without a hearing, and he is rudely rebuked.  By now the hatred and envy of the leaders has reached a stage where they speak thoughtlessly, casting out even knowledge of the Scriptures and the origins of Jonah.  But I think that it is important that we take a good look at these divisions.  We recall once again, as frequently we are called to do when we read John's Gospel, that the term "the Jews" is meant like a political term, to denote the religious rulers.  But even among the rulers there are important divisions.  Both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a very wealthy member of the Council (and so we might conclude an aristocratic member of the society around Jerusalem), will both publicly participate in the burial of Christ, showing honor to Him after the Crucifixion.  Nicodemus begins even here to speak up against the urge to rush to judgment.  There is no way that we can, in the light of the Gospels, make assumptions of monolithic nature of peoples under any circumstances.  Let us recall that every single person in this crowd and among the characters in today's reading is a Jew, including Jesus and His disciples.  The Gospel clearly shows us a great diversity of opinion surrounding Jesus, and this is explicit and deliberate.  Doesn't this teaching, made clear here in this Gospel, always apply to our lives and those who surround us?  Does not a great truth result in division, depending upon how each of us falls around it with our own opinions and perspectives?  Although in Christ is the true reconciliation of all things, and He is the Person who is Truth -- the pole around which our faith and divisions may rest -- each responds in their own way.  Moreover, the Gospel teaches us that each one is on a road of faith.  While the Pharisees as a whole are moving further and further into error and hatred, Nicodemus is moving further toward Christ on the pathway of faith.  The disciples, too, make a kind of pathway through the Gospels of doubt and faith, growing in their faith even while they clearly make mistakes (and are told so by Jesus; see, for example, Matthew 16:21-23).  While we can make statements about opinions and perspectives, we can weigh thoughts and assumptions and values, we really need great discernment when it comes to judging righteous judgment about people.  We have to be aware of what the Gospels teach us about each, and the road to faith that each must be on.  There is no doubt in the "mind's eye" of the Gospels, that Jesus is the Christ, the center of a universe and created history, the only begotten Son of God.  But in the meantime, human beings do a kind of dance all around this truth -- and while all individuals are capable of faith, no matter who they are or what position they hold in life (like, for example, Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, whose whole household received salvation), there are those who will go too far down the road of their own certainty and self-righteousness for repentance, and they in turn will mislead others.  Let us consider the important truths we find in this Gospel, that we cannot judge based on appearance, and neither can we make blanket assumptions of spiritual corrections based on them.  Each must decide for herself or himself, and each is on a pathway.  The critical question seems to come down to the capability we retain for repentance, for reconsideration, for a deeper introspection on truth and the human heart.  The Law was designed to teach good discipline and right relatedness, and from this lineage also comes Christ, the Reconciler of all things, the One who comes to heal, who is Truth.   In relation to Him we can have a sure footing, seeking to know ourselves, our weakness, our characters, and how we proceed along this road of faith -- even as we know we can't truly judge others, and always need His discernment.  Let us endeavor to know our weaknesses and blind spots, to be willing to reconsider, and to seek His truth with all diligence in our prayer, as we, too, journey toward Jerusalem through Lent in preparation for Easter Resurrection.  Our goal is to be like the officers in today's reading, who hear with hearts and minds capable of grasping what they had not known, open to hearing what they've never heard before.  No one could ever speak to us like the One who speaks to our hearts, except those who can share in that hearing.

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"   The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

On Saturday we read that Jesus practiced His ministry in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  (The lectionary has skipped over chapter 6 for now, and we have begun reading in chapter 7.)  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; other said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time when Israel wandered in the desert of Sinai, led by Moses.  Here my study bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize the authority of God over our lives and our existence in the created cosmos.  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom, who paraphrases Christ:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of god.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"   The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   Jesus turns here to the themes which repeat themselves throughout His reported ministry in the Gospels.  What is a violation of the Sabbath?  What constitutes an act against the will of God?  As in other instances, He here states a "blameless" violation of the Sabbath, that of circumcision, as given by law of Moses (or as the text says, from the fathers).    He cites not only the purpose of the Law, but the full aim of the will of God:  to heal.  To judge with righteous judgment is to do what He has said in the verses above:  to desire above all to do the will of God.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  My study bible notes that these crowds are mistaken, in two ways.  That is, in both an earthly sense and a divine sense.  As human being, they are thinking of Jesus as being from Nazareth of Galilee, but this is not the truth.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem (7:42; Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't understand that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven, and as the divine Son He is eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore, this divine "origin" also remains unknown to them.   The crowds, as reported by John, reflect the confusion of the people regarding Jesus.  But Christ's emphasis remains on the desire to love and serve God, and the wisdom this confers.

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   Christ's hour is the time of His suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone, as my study bible notes.  Jesus comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings.  See also 8:20, 10:39.  John repeatedly gives us instances where Christ is the object of murderous intent, but it is not yet His hour.

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   Christ refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  It is a confirmation regarding His total foreknowledge and understanding of the culmination of His mission in the world.

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  We are reminded yet again that the term the Jews is a political term in John's Gospel, used to denote the leadership.  (As opposed to the people, and the crowd.)   To go among the Greeks is to go among the Gentiles; that is, the Greek-speaking populations of the world, for at this time Greek was the international common language in the way that English is today.  The Dispersion is the Diaspora of the Jews among the Gentile populations.  My study bible says that this is an unwitting prophecy by the leaders (and not the last one; see 11:50), which points to the time after the Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the Apostles. 

The confusion of the crowds speaks volumes.  It tells us about our own places in the world, and how confusing it is to find truth.  Even the leadership are confused as well, and perhaps led even more astray than the crowds are by their own envy and resentment and outrage that Jesus seems to be violating and upstaging their authority.  But Jesus Himself gives us all the key here to understanding Him, His aim, His works, and our own places in the universe.  He gives us one great key to seemingly all things, and in particular to wisdom:  "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  This is the key not only to doing as He teaches:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  But it is also given as the key to His own knowledge, when the leaders ask themselves, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  What Jesus offers us, then, in today's reading, is the key to discernment, to wisdom, and to good judgment.  That is, a sincere desire to do the will of God, to put our own wills second, and to find and to serve God's will.  This is no easy thing.  It's not simply about following rules written down and interpreted for us somewhere, as the passage clearly illustrates since so much evolves here around Jesus healing on a Sabbath.  The real key to seeking to know and do the will of God is in prayer, in dialogue.  And what is that dialogue like?  So much depends upon silence, upon our own capacity for silence and stillness in prayer.  The Psalmist tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).  Christ teaches us about intimate prayer with our Father who sees in secret -- even about the importance of "secretness" (if we may call it that).  "Secret" is another word for mystery in the Greek, we must remind ourselves.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that when we pray, we are to "go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place" to "your Father who sees in secret" (see Matthew 6:5-6).  Let us consider the practices of monastic prayer designed to take us to this secret place with our Father who sees in secret, such as the Jesus Prayer, and remember that there is in our depth a kind of sacred silence into which we pray.  (Here is a rather thorough article on the practice of the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart.)  It is said that God prays in us in silence, with language we're not keen enough to understand as anything but silence.  But this is also a great mystery.  Nevertheless, what remains with us is Christ's great teaching, this great key to all things:  that it is the will to do the will of God that really gets us someplace in life, that gains us the benefit of wisdom and understanding, discernment and good judgment.  This involves great humility, and its cultivation in ourselves, as Jesus says:  "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  Let us understand Him.  This is the way of the Cross (see Matthew 16:23-27).  Today is the day on which many branches of the Church commemorate the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary the Mother of God.  How could Mary have heard Gabriel speaking to her?  How could she have given her assent to the will of God?  Let us consider her as the model, even as His mother, for each of us.  Consider her life and what was of most central importance to her, how she remained with Him through all things and even at the Cross.  In humility we listen and accept and seek God's will for our own, even through all the times of our lives. 

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone'?

Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

- Luke 20:9-18

In the readings of this week, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is the beginning of Passion Week.  He has already made His Triumphal Entry.   He wept over the city, lamenting its lack of peace.  His next act was to cleanse the temple, and then we are told He was teaching and preaching the gospel daily in the temple.  In yesterday's reading, He was confronted by the religious authorities.   Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me.  The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

  Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time."  This isn't the first parable Jesus has told of a man with authority who goes away for a long time, leaving his servants in charge of his property and the other servants.  In last week's readings, we read a parable that began similarly which He told to His own disciples.   It was a parable about what is to happen as He goes away Himself, and in the times in which we now live, and await His return, how His servants are to use what He invests in them.  See Everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  We also read parables in the Gospels told to His disciples about those stewards or servants who are unjust and cruel with the other servants while the master is away.  But here the teaching is told to the leadership, the religious authorities of Israel, and to all the people in the temple.  So, we see a kind of parallel thread, because the history of Israel is also reflected in Jesus' ministry; He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

"Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him."  My study bible says, "This parable recounts the history of Israel.  God the Father is the owner.  The vineyard is Israel.  The vinedressers are the religious leaders.  The servants are the prophets.  The beloved son is Jesus the Messiah."  In the history of Israel, time and again prophets have been sent, calling to repentance, protesting abuses.  The last of these, in the view of the Gospels, was John the Baptist.

"But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."   My study bible teaches that the "others" are the Gentiles.  I think we can't discount the truth that is found in such parables, a kind of simple and straightforward truth that stares us in the face.  How simply human is it to think that if we "get rid" of our problems by abusing or destroying or silencing the messengers, the problems will go away unnoticed.  How typical of human or "worldly" nature is it to believe that with a manipulation of appearances, all things are taken care of?  The ultimate manipulation in this sense is murder.

"And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  In their response, "Certainly not!" they reveal that they understand perfectly well what Jesus is talking about, who and what He's speaking to.  It's a great example of what we now might call "entitlement" and which Jesus has addressed many times, as He taught that faith in who an ancestor is will not be sufficient to secure an eternal life in Paradise.  The quotation is from Psalm 118:22.  My study bible says that it refers to Christ, "the foundation stone rejected by the religious leaders, who becomes chief cornerstone of the Church."  About the final verse in today's reading, my study bible says, "To attack or resist Christ means to suffer judgment and utter destruction."

At this point in Luke's gospel, we read many things about judgment, about just judgment and false judgment, and about Christ who has been welcomed as Messiah and King, and who ultimately is the Judge who will return to us.  While it is Jesus they seek to put on trial, to condemn and to sentence to death, He remains, nevertheless, the Judge.  He is the chief cornerstone; "whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  He is the Center and the substance of faith and the history of Israel, through which the Word has been revealed in Scripture.  We, as Christians, read our Old Testament that way, and see the Word revealed in the countless stories of the Burning Bush, of Commandments and Prophets and the whole spiritual history of the People of God.  It is as Son He appears to us in the Gospels.  He is the Christ.  And so, though they seek to kill the son and heir, as in the parable, He is warning them about what they are doing, what they seek.  It is foolish, foolhardy.  He is the capstone, the chief cornerstone.  How often in our lives we seem to believe that if no one sees and no one knows, there will be no consequences.  In today's lectionary reading, there is also the verse from Psalm 10, that describes an evil person who preys on the innocent, poor and helpless:  "He says in his heart, 'God has forgotten,  he has hidden his face, he will never see it.' "  Today's reading assures us indeed that even though the Son Himself may be killed as a human being, the chief cornerstone will nevertheless fully function as Judge.  It's a question of what we tell ourselves no one else sees, no Judge can discern, because we fool ourselves by believing only in appearances.  In faith in only what we can see lies manipulation; truth becomes only what I tell you, what I show you, and what is hidden doesn't count.  But Christ is the knower-of-hearts, and His truth cuts through all things.  Without this awareness we become victims of our own ignorance, losing ourselves in power in a worldly sense.  We remember that He will teach (to His "Stone" Peter, even as Jesus is being defended), that "He who takes the sword perishes by the sword."  Do we have faith in death and manipulation, or in His word, His judgment?  We live to Him, to His life and His truth.  To be lost in the vision of the purely "worldly," and its lack of sight, is to risk losing ourselves and stumbling on that stone, being crushed by it, as we fail to see and to discern true judgment.  So, even as Jesus is being pursued to the end of this Passion Week and His human death, we are given a message that is as true today as it ever was.  How do we know what God sees?  By what do we live, and what do we put our faith in?  Let us remember this parable is told to the people, and that it is for all of us.