Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover

 

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. 

 

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  

 

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

- Luke 21:37-22:13 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His prophesies of destruction to come in Jerusalem, and of the end of the age, Jesus spoke to the disciples a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.   During this Passover season, in the final week of Christ's earthly life, He lives as another pilgrim to Jerusalem, staying on the mountain called Olivet.  The setting is here for what will happen.  We note His popularity as all the people come gladly to the temple to hear Him.   

 

  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  My study Bible comments that the Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha) is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12 - 14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered, and the Jews would partake of it with unleavened bread, as was eaten at the first Passover.  My study Bible says this is a prefiguration of Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  So, therefore, Pascha is the primary term by which the Orthodox and many others refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter.  Note also how this passage explains that the religious leaders (the chief priests and scribes) fear the people due to Christ's popularity among them.

 

 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study Bible explains that Satan does not enter person except by that person's consent.  The reason Satan chose Judas, it says, and none of the others, is because Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas as numbered among the twelve gives an emphasis to the depth of the betrayal and shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by faith and virtue.  Once again, there is an emphasis on the popularity of Jesus.  His betrayal and seizure must happen in the absence of the multitude.  

 

 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Once again, my study Bible notes the use of the term Pascha, or Passover.  It notes that this word can refer to the original event itself, or the celebration of that event, or the food that is eaten, or even the lamb that is slain.  According to patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding, the virtues with which we all are to partake of the Lord's Supper.    We note again, as we did with the disciples preparations for Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the careful and deliberate preparations for this meal Jesus gives to the disciples.  

 

As today is celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist in many Christian denominations across the world, it is perhaps fitting for us to consider the Baptist's testimony to Christ, and the role he played in Christ's ministry, for this reading involving the preparations for the Passover Supper, and the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem at this last week of Christ's earthly human life.   It was John the Baptist who proclaimed, in introducing his own disciples to Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  In other words, John's role as a prophet is fulfilled in this prophesy of Christ as the Passover Lamb, who will be slain on the Cross, and in so doing, take away the sin of the world.  The Passover lamb was an offering in commemoration of God's liberation and freedom from slavery for the people of God; that is, Israel.  As St. Paul writes, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).  In the first Passover, all those with the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorpost of their homes were freed to become Israel, the people of God.  Christ is our Passover Lamb whose blood unites us into one people, and liberates us from slavery to sin.  For as our Passover Lamb, with His voluntary sacrifice, He will be the One who judges, the One who sets free, the One with the power to forgive sins, so that we may dwell in Him and in His name.  Moreover, in the tradition of the Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist also preceded Christ into hades, and preached His coming to the souls there, where, after He was slain and before His Resurrection, He would trample on the power of the devil and death, another essential aspect of liberation in His role as Passover Lamb.  This is the power of our Passover Lamb who unites us into one people and gives us freedom.  In the Revelation, St. John the Theologian (the same St. John who was Christ's disciple, and gave us one Gospel and three Epistles) writes of a Lamb standing, as if slain, in the midst of the throne of heaven (see Revelation 5:6).  This is a clear reference to Christ our Passover, triumphant and in authority over the cosmos.  Christ is our Passover, not because He had to "pay" a debt, but because He takes His place as the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) for our liberation, for His authority to forgive sins and free us from the devil and death.  Ultimately the Cross is the great sign of victory for precisely this reason, for the power of the devil is debt and slavery to sin, and Christ is the One who holds all of it in His hand and has the power to forgive and to set free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat"

 

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. 

 

- Luke 22:1–13 

 

On Tuesday, we read that Jesus spoke to them a parable after speaking about end times:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. 

 

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  My study Bible explains that the Passover (Πασχα/Pascha in Greek) is the celebration of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12 - 14).  In remembrance of this, the Jews would slaughter an unblemished lamb and partake of it with unleavened bread.  This, it says, prefigures Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  See also Revelation 13:8.  Orthodox Christians refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ primarily by the use of the word Pascha, known in the West as Easter.  

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study Bible comments that Satan does not enter a person except by that person's consent.  The reason that Judas was chosen by Satan, and none of the others, is because Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas being numbered among the twelve, my study Bible tells us, is an emphasis on the depth of the betrayal.  Moreover, it shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by faith and virtue.  

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Expanding further on commentary for the first verse in today's reading (see above), my study Bible explains that the term Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha) can refer to several things.  It can refer to the original event, or the celebration of that event, to the food that is eaten, or even to the lamb that is slain.  My study Bible adds that in patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding -- these, it says, are the virtues with which we are to partake of the Lord's Supper. 

It's interesting that the Passover refers to so many different things, as my study Bible notes.  One thing is for certain, the Passover is central to our understanding of Christ and who He is, and therefore to our understanding of our faith.  One of the most profound and intriguing ways Christ is referenced is in the Revelation:  "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).  Here the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world ties Jesus Christ to the Passover in ways that extend both before and long after the event in Exodus recorded as the Passover.  For this Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, meaning that Christ, our Passover, was always sacrificed for us -- indicating that when any of us sacrifices or suffers for our own faith, we are entering into His sacrifice made once and for all time, and for all of us.  The story of the Passover in Exodus 12 begins with the LORD instructing Moses and Aaron:  "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household' " (Exodus 12:2-3).  Note that the LORD's instructions clearly begin a kind of calendar:  "So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance" (Exodus 12:14).  In this sense of marking time and creating a calendar, even a "first of months" and a "memorial" of "everlasting ordinance" is a way of God giving instructions for manifesting a spiritual reality that already existed:  the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  It's also notable that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is established by the LORD as a memorial for "the same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:17).  So, this day begun in the Gospel, the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Passover, is at once a type of manifestation both of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, as well as the setting free of God's people, our liberation from bondage.  But this time the Lord Himself, the Lamb, has come into the world as a human being, and He will, as Jesus, become the Passover, and our Liberator for "all who dwell on the earth."  For in His sacrifice is the foundation of our life and its sustenance of which we all may partake.  For Christians, this is the central event of history.  In the fulfillment of this everlasting ordinance, Christ gives instructions for this final Passover of His earthly life as Jesus, for this time of fulfillment that is at hand in His Passion and Resurrection, and most certainly in the institution of the Eucharist, our own everlasting memorial.  Returning to my study Bible's mention of the patristic interpretation of Peter representing zeal and John spiritual understanding -- we take up the Lord's Supper and His manifestation of the Kingdom at hand, even the mysteries in which we are invited to partake.  Let us give thanks, for so we may enter into His Passover, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  For His flesh is food indeed, and His blood is drink indeed (John 6:55).

 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight"

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, 

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  

'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  

 

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

 

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was  baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

- Mark 1:1-13

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Today, following the commemorations of Nativity and the Christmas season, the lectionary begins a new daily cycle with Mark's Gospel.  It is the shortest and most brief of all the Gospels, with events happening in quick succession.  My study Bible explains that the word gospel is in Greek εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion, which quite literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  This was a Greek word commonly used in the Empire at Christ's time, as it was used for proclamations and messages coming from the Emperor and setting out policies or declarations.  So, in that sense, this is the gospel of another kind of kingdom.  It does not refer to Mark's writings per se according to my study Bible, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, it says, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry.  That is, the preparation by Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Jesus' encounter with him.  

As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your   way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.   John's first quotation is from Malachi 3:1, and he is declaring himself to be this messenger sent by the Lord to prepare the way for the coming covenant.  The second quotation is from Isaiah 40:3, a message meant to comfort a people in captivity and desperate for redemption.   These quotations would have been understood in the context of the time and the history of Jewish spirituality to invoke those prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah, and were given to a people under the power of another historical empire.  But this gospel is not simply political nor historical, and neither is the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.  John preaches a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  As we can see from the response of people from all of Judea and Jerusalem, the very center of Jewish life, they come to the wilderness (a barren region from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea) to the Jordan to be baptized for repentance, and confessing their sins.  To repent in Greek is μετανοια/metanoia, which literally means "change of mind," and indicates a deep change of heart, a total reorientation of one's life.  Note it is accompanied by confession of sins, and baptism, to be followed by a life of fruits worthy of the change.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  The clothing of John the Baptist evokes yet another prophet, as he is clothed in the manner of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  This is an indication that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return before the Messiah, as prophesied in Malachi 4:5.  Note the humility of John the Baptist, whose life is dedicated to service of this coming Lord and His kingdom.  His life was the inspiration  and model for the monasticism that would develop in the early Church.  John prophesies the power of Christ and the divine nature of Christ's baptism to come.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was  baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Christ's Baptism by John was commemorated by the early Church on January 6th, together with Nativity.  In the Eastern Churches, Christ's Baptism is still commemorated on this day.  It is often called Epiphany (meaning "showing forth" or "manifestation") or Theophany, which means a manifestation of God.  Manifest here in these short verses in Mark is the Holy Trinity as witnessed, with the Spirit descending upon Christ "like a dove" and the Father's voice declaring from heaven God's beloved Son.  

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  We may read details of Christ's temptation by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.  In each case, Jesus is challenged regarding His identity as Son, and His loyalty to the Father.  Forty is a significant number, evocative of the forty years that Israel was tested in the wilderness, proving to be at times both disobedient and disloyal.  Christ's responses to Satan in Matthew and Luke come from Deuteronomy, and the story of Israel's testing.

We might wonder why Jesus needs to be tested, and that this testing immediately follows His Baptism and the appearance of the Trinity, including Christ's divine identity as Son.  We understand the confession of sins of the people who come from Judea and Jerusalem, and their desire to receive a Redeemer, the Messiah.  But why does Jesus need to be tested here?  Why does One who is essentially sinless (as we've been taught) need testing?  This tells us something essential about our own journeys in the world and the spiritual life.  It does not matter what one has already understood and endured with prayer; we will be called upon for greater growth, new testing, and an expansion of our faith on this journey.  Repentance and redemption are not simply one-time incidents, but rather constitute a pattern and a lifetime of the growth of faith and reliance upon God.  Just as Israel journeyed on the forty year trek in the wilderness, so Christ is here driven by the Spirit into the wilderness.  (In the Greek language of the text, He is literally "thrown" or "cast" by the Spirit into the wilderness.)   The testing is part of the journey, and notable for its emphasis on worldly ways of thinking that question God's providence, our capacity for faith in what doesn't necessarily make pragmatic material sense to us.  Christ's responses in Matthew and Luke are all powerful rebukes that emphasize loyalty to God, and they are meant to be an example to us for our own lives.  What is more important to us?  Is there something God wants to teach us?  Is there a road of faith, a deepening and growth of faith?  Are there things in our lives we need to reject or "change our minds" about?  Whatever the path of faith, it is clear that a reliance on God is a journey and a struggle for growth, not simply a mental declaration or signing up for the teachings of one group or another.  Faith is a much deeper kind of encounter, an entrance into what Christ will repeatedly call the kingdom of heaven in His teachings.  It is not just a way of life but a way of being in the world, an awareness that our lives hold so much more than the material alone.  As Jesus teaches in Luke's Gospel, this kingdom is within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).  He will say in John's Gospel, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), indicating to us that our faith is a "road" (the literal meaning of the word translated as "way"), and it is truth and life.  These words are not simple metaphors for a code or a set of values we ascribe to.  They denote the complete experiential reality of this lived faith which touches upon all of us and all that we perceive, including the struggles of we encounter.  There is nothing that is lost to this journey, nothing in which there is no hidden capacity for meaning or redemption, for this is truly the mystery of God -- that even at the Cross we may find our deepest faith and most powerful transformation and purpose in the redemptive power of Christ and the meanings we're given -- even the destruction of death and the transfiguring power of life in abundance, connecting us to what is eternal.  Let us follow this good news, this deepening power of faith, and open up to the confidence it may give us in a sense of who we are, and whom we are called to become, even as we walk through the challenges that meet us on the road of Christ.  The voices in the Gospel call to us from times past and all throughout history to prepare the way of the Lord.  Even the voices of the prophets echo to make His paths straight, for we do not journey on this road alone, but with the Lord, and with God's faithful.  That is and remains timeless, ever-present, if we are but mindful and awake to it.

I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones

 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." 

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

- Luke 3:1-14

Yesterday we read Jesus' final words in the High Priestly Prayer in John chapter 17:  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.   Luke gives us the historical setting, pinpointing an date in which these things took place.  The sons of Herod the Great rule Galilee and other regions.  It was an ancient prophecy of Jacob that the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Herod the Great was a non-Jew calling himself the king of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth.   In actuality, Caiaphas was the sole high priest; however, people recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas.  Annas was a previous high priest deposed by the Romans.  The lectionary begins our readings in Luke here, but earlier chapters have told us about Zacharias and Anna, the parents of John, and their relation to Mary, Jesus' mother; also about the birth of Jesus.

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .   John behaves characteristically as a prophet, giving a call to repentance which was traditional for prophets.  His baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but prefigured and prepared people for he baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  John, says my study bible, is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit (literally, "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin.

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low;  The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  John quotes from Isaiah the Prophet (Isaiah 40:3-5).  In John chapter 1, the Baptist declares himself to be the voice crying in the wilderness (John 1:23). 

"Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."   My study bible says that while parents and ancestors can help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself doesn't make a person worthy of God.  Rather, each person in every generation must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones, it says,  symbolize the Gentiles would would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  See also 1 Peter 2:5.  John warns of judgment in the coming of the Lord.  Having just read through the lectionary readings in John, we recall Jesus' words in the farewell discourse about the sending of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (see John 16:8-11).  In our next reading, John the Baptist will allude to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the connection to the judgment of Christ.

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."  Here are the teachings of justice, and they reflect the understanding of the Law.  All who come for repentance are instructed by John in acts of repentance, in preparation for judgment and the coming of the Lord.  These teachings remain instructional for all of us.

John fulfills his prophetic role as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord."  We have to think about what it means to "make His paths straight."  In a very strong sense, there is a kind of timelessness and seamlessness to the early chapters in Luke.  Time seems to fold and bend and reflect upon itself.  It's not clear what time period begins when.  Ironic it is that Luke sets down so carefully the worldly historic period of his Gospel and the events in it, because interwoven in these events are great periods of time that seem to constitute one time.  Isaiah prophesied of the voice crying in the wilderness in the eighth century before Christ.  John the Baptist comes calling himself that voice, prophesying the coming of the Lord.  And the Gospels go on to tell us about this life of Jesus.  But John's words will also allude to the Holy Spirit, even as Jesus told the disciples more explicitly about the coming of the Helper in the farewell discourse in John (see chapters 14-17, beginning with this reading from last Monday).  But somehow, all is interwoven.  Jesus will come as fulfillment of the Law, and thereby the things that John has to teach those who come to him to learn about repentance still apply and still make good sense to us.  Christ initiates a time period in which the Holy Spirit will come, to "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" and we still live in this ongoing period in which all of this is happening -- but how often are we aware of this "fire" of the Holy Spirit that is at work in all of us and all around us?  John will teach in tomorrow's reading about this fire.  But the patterns of warning and prophesy, the coming of the Lord and Christ's revelation of both Himself as Son and the presence of the Father, His teaching about the sending of the Helper and the Helper's work in the world, all blend into one.  These moments of revelation are all present with us here and now.  They don't belong only to the past or to a fixed date in historical time.  That is the nature of revelation; it brings into the world something that is eternal and always present with us.  But we, in each moment of our time, have time to reflect and to understand and to recollect what these truths are and what they mean at each moment in our lives.  In such an understanding, each moment can serve as period of reflection, just as the tax collectors and soldiers and those who come from Judea and the whole region ask John what they shall do.  So we, with even greater revelation at our hand, ask what we should do.  The eternal is present with us in Father, Son, and Spirit abiding with us, and the communion of saints which includes the Baptist.  Each moment serves as portal to remind ourselves and to understand, and to consider our role in this great story of God's love for us.   In the words of Saint Peter, what does it mean to be a "living stone"?

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

- Luke 22:1-13

In recent readings, Jesus has been giving a discourse covering both the future destruction of the temple (and the Siege of Jerusalem) and end times, His Second Coming.  On Tuesday, we read that He gave a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.    The Passover (Hebrew: Pesach; Greek: Pascha), says my study bible, is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12-14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered and partaken with unleavened bread.  It prefigures the Passion of Christ, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  For much of the world, Pascha (or a variation of the word) is the primary term by which Christians refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter. 

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study bible suggests that Satan does not enter a person except by the person's consent.  The reason Judas was chosen and none of the others is that Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Judas mentioned as numbered among the twelve is an emphasis on the depth of betrayal here.  It shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by both faith and virtue.    We note the fear of the leadership:  they fear the people, who flock to Christ to hear Him preach in the temple.  Judas colludes to find a way to betray Christ in the absence of the multitude.  It is more than a betrayal of Christ; to betray Christ is also to betray the people.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Christ prepares for the Passover, for His Passover, which we know as the Last Supper.  It will be the institution of the Eucharist, by which we know and commemorate His sacrifice as our Passover.

We note above how the leadership fears the crowds.  What they do they must do in secret.  Tuesday's reading (above) told us that early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.   They listen to Jesus challenge the leadership, an open dialogue, even as the leaders plot to rid themselves of Him and kill Him.  What are we to make of all this intrigue swirling around Christ?  There seem to be so many contradictory things happening.  He has been welcomed as Messiah into Jerusalem, in His Triumphal Entry upon a donkey.  He teaches daily in the temple.  He spars with the leadership as they question Him and demand to know by what authority He's done what He's done, including the cleansing of the temple (see this reading).  But the people love to hear Him.  He tells the truth that they can't say out loud.    And so, it's the "leadership" that fears the people.  And then we read that Judas, one of Christ's chosen Twelve, is one whom Satan has entered.  I think we have to try to understand the depth of betrayal this entails.  It isn't just about betraying his Master.  Judas betrays the depths of his own soul; He betrays his Savior, his own salvation.  We can speculate why his heart is open to Satan, to this kind of perverse betrayal.  In John's Gospel, we read that Judas was among those criticizing the woman who used the expensive ointment to anoint Christ, and whom Jesus chastized.  John tells us that Judas was a thief who would steal from the money-box, of which he was in charge (see John 12:1-8).  It's not strange, in human psychology, that one would cover one's own guilt by pointing an accusing finger -- the guilt itself enforcing a need to scapegoat the innocent.   (Perhaps the Gospels can teach us much more about scapegoating and bullying than we understand.)  Christianity places the ultimate importance on awareness of our own imperfections, the humility necessary to come to metanoia (literally "change of mind"), the Greek word for repentance.    Think of it, Christ comes into the world with a mission of love, inseparable from a mission of truth (I am the way, the truth, and the life - John 14:6).  It is the truth He tells to the leadership that they don't want to hear, the truth He tells to Judas, the truth He offers to each of us.   This is a healing truth, a salvific truth, one that is the answer, the solution, to the problems of the world.  But some are invested in the problems - and that's where a heart is open to Satan, to the betrayal of one's own salvation and life.   The early Church would hear of the spirit of the antichrist, that which betrays Christ with false doctrine, lies and half-truths masquerading to appear as truth, like wolves in the guise of sheep.   Let us consider how we're advised to choose in this puzzling circumstance, in our world, where truth is lined up with betrayal, where lies are masked as authority, where we're with the people --  who must filter and sift through all things with the lens of faith and find the way, the truth, and the life.  We're one of them.  Christ shows us our world and exposes its problems for us.   The real struggle for faith is all about what we stake our lives on, where our betrayal means we betray ourselves, and how we can have the humility to serve Him and find who we truly are.