Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?

 

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

- John 8:47–59 

 

Jesus is currently at the Feast of  Tabernacles in Jerusalem, as we read through chapter 8.  He has been in disputes with the religious leaders, who unsuccessfully tried to have Him arrested.  Yesterday we read that they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 

  "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" My study Bible comments that, unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, these enemies resort to personal insult.  They will do so again in the following chapter (John 9:34). Personal insult (as well as Scriptural error) was also their response to Nicodemus when he questioned whether Jesus should be judged without a hearing (John 7:50-52).

 

 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Once again, Christ's own witness comes up for questioning.  Who lies, and who tells the truth here?  He offers His Father again as witness, the One who honors Him.  Abraham also bears witness through the Scriptures.  For Jesus, the value of all things is measured through relation to the Father, including Christ's own honor.

 

 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Once again we recall that in St. John's Gospel, the term the Jews most often refers to the religious leaders, not the people.  It is akin to naming the rulers of a city, the word in Greek translated by some as meaning "Judeans."  Jesus and His followers (which included the author of this Gospel) are all Jews.

 

 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  I AM (Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi) is the divine Name of God in the Old Testament, which was first revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  For these religious leaders, my study Bible explains, this is a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God, as evidenced by their reaction here (see also Mark 14:62-64).  It notes that St. John in his Gospel places special emphasis on the use of this Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  This divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death, which is a power that belongs only to God the Father.  

 

It seems quite ironic (or perhaps we should just say interesting) that the insults which come to Jesus (as they did earlier to Nicodemus) take on the same character that we find in our own headlines so often.  He's insulted as to His possible origins ("You are a Samaritan") and also He's called evil (You . . "have a demon").   They used the same kind of insults with Nicodemus, asking if he were a Galilean too.  In formal logic, these are called ad hominem fallacies, personal attacks on a person rather than a solid and truthful argument about something. It seems that this sort of attack will always be with us somehow, and we should pay attention, because in this case it's directed at the Person who is truth (John 14:6), the Logos (Word) Himself (John 1:1).  This attack is on the One who is the light of life, the co-Creator with the Father.  These false attacks are attacks on the One who gives life, and will ultimately judge.  It has to make us think about the essence of good and evil somehow, to consider how profoundly in error this behavior can be, and it invites judgment on a scale that doesn't exist normally between imperfect human beings who all are guilty of error in some way or another.  Jesus said Himself, perhaps illustrating the point, and speaking of blasphemy against the Spirit, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).  It all adds a very profound weight to consider when we ourselves indulge in personal insults and false arguments instead of a sincere focus for truth.  This is an often overlooked foundation of our faith.  For, if we worship the Person who is the truth, as He said, then should we not always be faithful in serving truth, in seeking what is real and true, and good and beautiful, and not indulging in what we see are false arguments used even against the Son of the living God?  Why is it important that we ourselves refrain from using fallacies, lies, manipulations, and other such tactics when we interact with others?  There is a much deeper foundation to our own need for dispassion and rational faith in what we know to be good, and true, and beautiful than we might consider in our every day lives.  It is what we read here that should give us pause, in the heat of an argument, during heightened passions and arguments and confrontations, beyond all other considerations we might have.  And that is for the simple reason that such things are even paraded in accusation against the Judge Himself, the One who is the arbiter of all things.  When we indulge in such behaviors we're doing ourselves no favor, but serving the master that would make us a slave (John 8:34).  We forget who we are and the One whom we truly must desire to serve, the One who tells the truth and teaches us to abide in His word, for it comes from the One who sent Him, and who is true (John 7:28).  Once again, we are in the approach to Lent, and it's the perfect time to consider why cultivating our capacity for these virtues has always been in the teaching of the Church, and particularly emphasized as goals through the practices of Lent.  Let us find the discipline to be as true as Jesus, and abide in that truth.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  

 

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  

 

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  for in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."   

 

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He  stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

 

- John 4:27–42 

 

Yesterday, we continued to read the story of Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see the first reading here).  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and  you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  My study Bible explains that the disciples marveled not only that Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, but that He was speaking with an unaccompanied woman, which was potentially scandalous.  For more instances of Christ's dealings with women, see John 7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18 (see also Luke 8:1-3).  

 

 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  This Samaritan woman becomes an early evangelist, according to my study Bible.  Here she testifies to the advent of Christ and brings others to Him.  According to an early tradition, after the Resurrection she was baptized with the name Photini, meaning "the enlightened one."  Together with her two sons and five daughters, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  Later she and her family were martyred under the emperor Nero, by being thrown into a well.  On March 20 the Church remembers her and celebrates her feast day.  

 

 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  Here is yet another instance of misunderstanding in John's Gospel, which opens for Jesus another opportunity to teach.  My study Bible explains that Christ fulfills His role as Messiah by doing the will of the Father; so, therefore, this is His food.  It also teaches us that we are to perform the will of God in our lives without being distracted by earthly cares.  

 

 "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, Christ commands the disciples to "Behold!" because the townspeople were approaching, ready and eager to believe in Jesus.  Christ compares these foreigners (relative to the Jews) to fields ready for harvest.  This command, my study Bible adds, is also to all believers to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone wanting to hear it, regardless of race or ethnicity. 

 

 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  for in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."   According to St. John Chrysostom, those who sow and those who reap are the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles, respectively. My study Bible explains that the prophets sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, but they did not see His coming and so did not reap.  The apostles did not do the preparation, but would draw thousands to Christ in their own lifetimes.

 

 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He  stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."  That these foreigners are among the first to recognize Jesus as the Savior of the world shows us that the gospel is for all people in every nation, my study Bible notes here.

 

 This unlikely woman becomes a great apostle, and is venerated until today in the Church.  Her name, by which she's known as a saint, is "Photini."  The Greek root of this name is phos, meaning "light."  This name is generally translated as meaning "Enlightened" or "the enlightened one" (as it is above).  But what's important about the root of the name is that it comes from "light," as meaning one who carries light, or is infused by the light, shining, illumined.  What that light implies, of course, is the light of Christ, one who embodies the teaching of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, when He taught to us, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).  In the great mystery of this revelation by Christ to this woman, and her acceptance and understanding of His teaching and His identity as Messiah, is the mystery of illumination, what it means to be enlightened or illumined by Christ.  Regarding the concept of divinization, or theosis, there is often taught an analogy or example of just how we as human beings are capable of adopting the qualities of God through grace.  It is likened to a piece of metal being shaped in a fire, such as a sword.  The metal thrust into the fire takes on the properties of heat and even light, but it doesn't become fire, it remains metal.  So those illumined by God may take on properties of Christ's light, the illumination of the Holy Spirit, to reflect into the world this grace, this gift of holiness however it manifests in them.  In the case of this woman, her receptivity to Christ and her immediate faith captivated a whole town, and became a fire or light which she'd carry to other people and other nations, like the example of the lamp Christ preaches in the Sermon on the Mount.  We could even think of this name as describing someone who is radiant, but no doubt it bears greater similarity to the nimbus or halo of light portrayed around saints or images of the divine. This Samaritan woman, given to us in this Gospel of light by St. John, forms for us an image of our faith, of what salvation really means. The radiant life of Christ, through faith and grace, so permeates her life that she takes on its name. May that light remain shining in all of us so that we share it as she did.  

 

 

 

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 

 "Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedresers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."  

 

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

'The stone which the builders rejected 

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the LORD's doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given  to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

 

- Matthew 21:33-46 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, referring to the cleansing of the temple, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, I go, sir,' but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."  

 

"Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedresers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews (to whom Jesus tells the parable), who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who is sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet coming to call the people back to God, while the beloved son is Christ Himself.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard and killed, it's understood on two levels, according to my study Bible.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (Golgotha at that time was outside of the city walls); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own "vineyard."  

 

They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."   Note how these religious leaders once again convict themselves, as in yesterday's reading in their answer to the parable of the "two sons" (see above).  They are correct in naming the other vinedressers, who are the faithful among the Gentiles.

 

 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?  Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given  to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23.  My study Bible comments that this stone is Christ.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it adds, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while still in this life, but those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment. 

 

 In the letters of both St. Paul and St. Peter there is reference to Christ as this stone mentioned in today's reading.  Perhaps of particular importance is the fact that in each case, the saints refer to Christ as both stumbling block and rock of offense.  Both saints quote from Old Testament Scripture to teach this lesson also noted in the commentary by St. John Chrysostom cited above.  St. Paul quotes, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  St. Peter writes, "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."  See Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:6-8; Isaiah 8:14-15, 28:16.  So the "two ways" cited by St. John Chrysostom are found in the earliest years of the Church, and directly from the apostles.  How are we to understand this in a modern context, in which the weight of the words of Christ fails to impact many people?  Let us understand the prophetic reality of what He is saying here.  These religious leaders (if we pay careful attention to the parable) are the inheritors of the spiritual history of Israel.  They are the last in a very long line of leaders of Israel who reject the word of the prophets that are sent to them.  We may read, for instance about the prophet Amos, who lived in the 8th century before Christ.  According to my study Bible, his were the first prophecies to be written down, and he was the first prophet to proclaim the end of God's covenant with Israel because of stubborn unrepentance, oppression of the poor, and other sins of passion.  Israel had grown wealthy at this time from control of trade routes.  He preached repentance in warning the king and the people.  But the priests, tired of his prophecies, clubbed him to death.  So the setting here is important, as is Christ's parable; it tells us of things these men know very well as the religious leaders and stewards of the people. In fact, in chapter 23, Jesus will speak to the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers'guilt" (Matthew 23:29-32).  Adding to this, He further prophesies their future persecution of the Christian "prophets, wise men, and scribes."  It tells us of a whole history, a pattern, a "filling up," in Jesus' language, of the fullness of intentions and behaviors borne out by a refusal to honor and fulfill covenant. So let us consider this in a current setting, in which there is no state religion within modern democracies.  It seems that, first of all, we who call ourselves Christians do indeed have a responsibility to uphold, nevertheless, not simply the tenets of our declared faith, but also the courage of what it means to bear covenant and particularly to pay attention to the promptings of God in our spiritual lives.  It means that when we preach Christ crucified we bear witness to something more powerful than mere words and theories, for we carry with us the Spirit promised by Christ, and we owe an allegiance to God's calling for us.  It means that those of us who live among any society in which we hold ourselves to a particular faith bear responsibility for living that faith, and being a light even to those who may reject it for themselves (Matthew 5:16).  But let us not doubt the power of that stone, for this is embedded in the words of Christ in today's reading, and there can be no doubt about His intent and the serious nature of His warnings.  He remains for all the world both a stumbling block and an offense, and a stone that some reject.  But He is for us the chief cornerstone, and His truth we cannot deny, for it is a wisdom to be cherished. 

     

 

 

 

For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him

 

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.' 

 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

- Matthew 13:10–17 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we were given a new turn in Christ's ministry.  We read that on the same day following a dispute with the Pharisees and scribes (and their demand for a sign from Him), Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.  And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears, let him hear!" 

 

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible comments that the mysteries of the kingdom are not simply obscure concepts, or some religious truths meant only for the elite.  Neither is the understanding of the parables a purely intellectual process.  Even the disciples find the message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, my study Bible comments, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

 

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.' "  Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study Bible comments that this prophesy of Isaiah, according to St. John Chrysostom, does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  It's a figure of speech common to Scripture which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).   It's understood from this passage that God permits their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  Spiritual blindness is not the result of God speaking through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness. 

 

  "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Here He is speaking directly to His disciples, those who have chosen to follow Him, responding to the truths they perceive in His ministry, and His presence of holiness that is undeniable to them (John 6:68).

 

 Jesus has suddenly begun an unusual practice (for Him) which the disciples have never seen Him do before:  He begins to speak to the crowds ("great multitudes") in parables (see yesterday's reading, above).  His disciples are puzzled, and they come to ask Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  Jesus answered, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." This is an intriguing answer.  Somehow Jesus seems to be saying to them that somehow it has been given to them by God that they should have the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven revealed to them, but not to the crowds in front of whom Christ now speaks in parables.  Parables sound like simple stories, and indeed they are, but to understand and to have insights about the spiritual journey and the reality of the kingdom of heaven, one would have to have some sort of experience of this to relate to the parable.  One would have to know something about the journey of spiritual truth, of growing closer to God and growing in participation in those mysteries in one's life.  But what is the point of speaking to the great crowds in parables?  Jesus tells the disciples, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   We take this together with the words from Isaiah Jesus goes on to quote, and we discover a fact about the spiritual life, which Jesus states here unequivocally.  We're either going to grow in this life, or we won't.  This is a reflection of the common theme, sometimes called "the two ways" in Scripture.  It's also referred to as the "way of life and the way of death" (Jeremiah 21:8).  These "two ways" were also described in the earliest teaching document known to the Church, considered to be the teachings of the apostles, called the Didache ("The Teaching").  Jesus Himself described these two ways when He taught (in the Sermon on the Mount), "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).  But here in today's reading, He seems to teach us that there are some for whom these mysteries of the kingdom of God are accessible; perhaps they have a function in their inner life of being perceptive to them, and they will find them in Christ's parables, and be drawn to Him.  But, He also states, there are those who simply don't, and will not seek to have this abundance, as He puts it.  One presumes that this capacity is linked also to the capacity for repentance, for access to this Kingdom and its mysteries surely confers ways in which we change and adapt as we participate in this understanding, and grow more deeply into it.  Let us consider the reality of the presence of this Kingdom among us, and in our world, brought to us by Christ -- and how we will pursue it.  Our prayers are those that seek this participation and growth in the life of the Kingdom, for without it, what else is the point of His preaching to us in His parables of the kingdom of God?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salt and Light

 

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

 

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall  it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men,  that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:11-16 

 

 Yesterday, we began reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapter 5 - 7).  St. Matthew writes:  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

 

  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  My study Bible tells us that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  The Greek for be exceedingly glad means to "leap exceedingly with joy" (see Acts 5:40-41).  

 

 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall  it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men,  that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  Salt and light illustrate the role of disciples in society, says my study Bible.  It notes that because of the preservative powers of salt, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor, it had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth, it says, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  Regarding light, God is the true and uncreated Light.  In the Old Testament, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), and Israel in contrast to all other nations.  In the New Testament, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9, 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  Light, it continues, is necessary both for clear vision and for life itself.  Faith relies on this divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) who shine in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).  In many Orthodox parishes, the Pascha (Easter) Liturgy begins with a candle being presented and the invitation to "come receive the Light which is never overtaken by night."  Finally, we come to understand that Christian virtues have both a personal and a public function; for, as my study Bible says, our virtue can bring others to glorify the Father.

 

What does it mean to be salt and light?   Jesus is speaking of believers in two ways here, as my study Bible explains.  There is first of all the integrity of salt, if you will.  That is, salt as a symbol of fidelity and steadfastness, not being wishy-washing, but firm in belief and values.  In that sense, salt binds a relationship, a relationship of community to Creator in this instance.  It is a symbol of loyalty -- of adherence to covenant.  This very steadfastness and loyalty to Christ is spoken of as "flavor," a sense in which this ingredient, liberally sprinkled adds powerful enhancement to the good things of the community, the society, and the world.  It is like the magic crystals that make everything better, turning life from just okay to delicious and appetizing, even good for you.  Having recently bought some sea salt crystals, there is this experience of something bursting with flavor on top of whatever food one has made or is eating, and this is the way that Christ sees faithful living among the society, as that which gives bursts of delight and brings out what is there in ways that magnify and give beauty to culture, the same way that a tradition of good cooking does, to make life appetizing and gracious.  Light goes without saying -- there is nothing that can be seen without light.  Light reflects upon all things, and by it and that action we can see what is what.  In this sense, light gives us the advantage of truth, of knowing where we are, how to navigate life, and to negotiate its curves.  Light in this sense is truth, and it allows us to discern the nature of things, even the details we might not see otherwise, or blur to ourselves without really looking in the dark corners.  Jesus says, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  He speaks of Himself as light in that case, and His life in the world.  But here in the Sermon on the Mount, He is asking us to bear His light into the world, to become His light, to share His light and His truth by allowing it to shine in us and in our lives.  This is only possible through faith, and through faithful living, hence the indispensable quality of salt to be matched with our light.  Light shines through things, it reflects off of things,it clarifies things, and teaches us discernment, separating good from bad, distinguishing the differences and the nuances as well.  In Christ's light we distinguish false from true, and are taught to recognize heresy so that we don't go down that path.   It's part of the measure of all things.  And, lest we forget, light in Christ's time came from lamps that burned fire, not light bulbs, and the fire one reads about in the Scriptures is so often derivative or descriptive of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's action in the world.  When Jesus speaks of believers as light, it's as well that we think of carrying lamps illumined by flames, or torches, because we carry that fire of faith and belief that can test out gold from dross, an energy that burns and consumes but also purifies and enlightens, a flame shared with us from the fire of the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ.  John the Baptist came preaching that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, and here is the fire of that Holy Baptism, given to us, and what we are expected by Christ to do with it (see Matthew 3:11).  The image may be old fashioned to our ears and eyes, but nevertheless it remains the same, stunning in its message all this time later just as it was 2,000 years ago, in the timeless quality of Jesus' words.  For His word is also that flame in our hearts, as we must bear that into the world, too.  Let us remember what He asks of us today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

 

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

 

- Mark 12:13–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  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'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A men planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

 

  Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  My study Bible explains that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and therefore willing servants of Rome.  This question is design to entrap Jesus in either way He might answer.  A "yes" answer would turn the people against Him, for whom the Roman taxation and occupation were onerous.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  We should keep in mind also that our lives aren't divided into the secular and the sacred -- God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  Paying taxes and other civil duties aren't detrimental to holiness.  

 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  The Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  My study Bible explains that they held many high offices in Israel, and so controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  They were different from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent and adapted to the presence of the Romans.  According to my study Bible, the Sadducees interpreted the law even more rigidly than the Pharisees and differed from them also in that they rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem.  

 

 In today's reading, we get both the question from the pro-Roman Herodians and one from the landowning, aristocratic Sadducees.  In both of these testing inquiries of Jesus, we observe a materialistic perspective, and one that we might say is not very spiritual.  That is, the first question is designed to trap Jesus around questions of money and taxes.  Jesus' response focuses in upon the coin or currency itself, as if to shape a perspective on a clear vision of what it means to pay and owe taxes to the state -- and what our duties are to God.  The contrast regarding which authority has domain over which area becomes the crux to Jesus' answer.  Whose image is printed on the coin, minted by the realm of Caesar?  So to return the taxes to Caesar is fitting.  But what belong to God?  And where is God's image?  Our whole lives are under the domain of God, and we are made in God's image, therefore our primary loyalty is to God.  We perhaps should keep in mind that these coins weren't allowed in the temple as they bore the image of Caesar, who was worshiped as a god (see Jesus' cleansing of the temple, including the tables of the money changers, in Monday's reading).  The Sadducees. landowning aristocrats, so to speak, of the Jewish society, with inherited positions and control of the temple, also posit a question with a rather materialistic perspective.  Because they didn't believe in resurrection, nor did their Scriptures include anything but the Torah or Law (the first five books of the Old Testament), they lack a spiritual orientation (neither did they believe in the existence of angels) and general perspective on the reality of the spiritual realm.  Thus, Jesus says to them, "You do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God," and they are therefore mistaken.  He explains of those in the resurrection, "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken." So their materialist perspective renders them mute and blind, in a sense, to the true reality of life as it exists in the fuller picture of God's creation, including the angels, the spiritual realm, the resurrection -- and the transformation possible for human beings in the resurrection.  Their blindness extends to their understanding of Scriptures, for they do not understand the meaning of God's words to Moses at the burning bush:  "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."   Additionally, we're given to understand, through Christ's words, that where the Sadducees with their materialist perspective see only death, the true God proclaims life:  "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  In our modern age, it's quite tempting to adopt such a "down to earth" (so to speak) "materialist" position.  We can just accept the rules as they're taught to us through Scripture, follow them, and leave every other question to either unknowing, or as in this case, scoffing or ridiculing.  But Christ's fuller picture shows us the power of God, and the depth of meaning of the Scriptures, for it shows us the true fullness of life -- and that life is not limited simply to a worldly perspective.  Our real job in life isn't just to collect fortunes and do well materially; neither is it simply to produce offspring or expand the material or political power and property we have in life.  Our job is faith, and that includes the fullness of life as abundance we can't necessarily see, but nevertheless must keep in mind.  For if there is a resurrection, and if God is truly the God of the living, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all who come before and after us, if angels do live and work among us, if Christ is who He claims He is, then we are all in a world of unimaginable beauty and transcendent goodness -- which calls us to live according to that greater sense of God's kingdom.  In the course of the past two readings, we've had opportunity to discuss prayer and seeking God's will in Monday's reading and commentary (as in the Lord's Prayer, we pray to our Father in heaven, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"), and also the topic of prophets and prophecy in yesterday's reading and commentary.  These men who question Jesus, the Herodians and the Sadducees, understand neither, as they are bereft of these teachings through their exclusion of them.  It was Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded at his wife's request and through his own extravagant oath at a party; the Sadducees wish to retain their power and places but will be scattered at the Siege of Jerusalem.  Perhaps we should consider, in terms of Jesus' fuller picture of life, what this does to add to our own choices and considerations in our lives, how we are blessed, and how we must see all that we do in this perspective and through the lens of the life of the Kingdom.  For all that we do has a greater impact and importance than we think; we walk even among the great cloud of witnesses who belong to it all and among whom all live to God.

 

 

 

 

 

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes

 

 Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  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'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 

 Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A men planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:

'The stone which the builders rejected 

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the LORD'S doing, 

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  

 

- Mark 11:27—12:12 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus and the disciples had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

 

  Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  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'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."   Here is the great concern of the religious leaders:  authority.  Since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple (see yesterday's reading, above).  But Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers.  So He confounds them with a different question about John.  Both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer, my study Bible comments, and therefore would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  By not answering them directly, my study Bible notes, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.  

 

 Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A men planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  In this parable, my study Bible explains, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the religious leaders who were entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, while the one son, his beloved is a reference to Christ Himself.  When the Son is killed and cast out of the vineyard it may be understood various ways.  Christ was killed outside of Jerusalem, and He was crucified by foreign soldiers rather than those of His own "vineyard."  He was cast out by the religious leaders and rejected at His trial before Pilate.  The others who will later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  Jesus quotes Scripture from Psalm 118:22-23.

 

It's interesting to consider Christ's use of Scripture here, after He tells the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers.   Clearly the religious leaders -- as the text of the Gospel tells us -- understand that Jesus has told this parable against them.  But in quoting these verses from Psalm 118, Jesus is doing more.  He is the fulfillment of the Scripture; He is the stone which the builders rejected, and which will moreover become the chief cornerstone.  That is, He is the One who will determine the foundation of an entirely new "building" and one which will replace the old, although having been rejected by the builders.  In this sense, the Psalm forms a kind of prophecy, to be fulfilled through the spiritual history of the people, and we are meant to understand it this way.  In fact, our reading for today has many overtones of prophecy in it, as it begins by Jesus using the image of John the Baptist to demand an accountability on the part of the chief priests, scribes, and elders who question Him about His authority in the temple.   The suggestion of John the Baptist as a person of authority to practice his baptism comes from Jesus as a reminder to these religious leaders of the authority of a prophet.  John the Baptist was recognized throughout the Jewish communities as a holy man and treated with that kind of reverence.  Like the Old Testament prophets before him, he "spoke truth to power" as the modern saying goes, and was eventually martyred for criticizing the marriage of King Herod Antipas for being outside of Jewish law.  So the figure of John -- in the context of the Church -- comes to us as the last and greatest in the long line of the Old Testament prophets.  And among the people of his own time, he was widely recognized for his holiness, as people came from all over the Jewish territories for his baptism.  He is the one whom the Church calls the Forerunner, because he himself was also the fulfillment of prophecy.   When St. John the Baptist appears in the Gospels, it is presented in fulfillment of earlier prophecy by Malachi and Isaiah.  St. Mark's Gospel begins, "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" ' " (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3).  So, when Jesus asks where the authority for John's ministry of baptism came from, He is asking the religious leaders to consider the authority of God's grace by whom gifts of prophecy come.  These leaders, whether or not they accepted John, would not speak up before the people who listen, for the people all regarded John with the authority of a holy figure.  So John the Baptist, last in the line of Old Testament prophets, the prophets who came before him (and whose prophecies he fulfilled), all the prophets suggested in the parable of the vinedressers as the prophets killed before John by those in the same positions of authority these men hold to whom Jesus speaks, and Christ Himself as fulfillment of prophecy in the Psalm of David  -- all these come by the power, grace, and authority of God, Jesus suggests here . One after the other, they come "in the name of the Lord," and one after another have been questioned as to their authority to speak, and persecuted in turn, as the parable suggests.  Jesus is the beloved Son, who in fact speaks with greater authority, and the consequences of His rejection and death will be much more far reaching for the descendants of these authorities in the temple.  Jesus is, of course, much more than a prophet, but He is a figure about whom many wondered in His own time if He was "the Prophet," a figure prophesied by Moses (see Mark 6:15; Deuteronomy 18:15).  The importance of prophecy and its fulfillment, and most particularly the authority carried by the grace of God the Holy Spirit plays a great part on many layers in today's reading.  This is the authority of Christ the Lord, and is carried by the rest to whom that grace of true prophecy is given, as well as the figures who form the fulfillment of prophecy.  But let us remember that Jesus has also taught that "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house," a saying so important that it appears in all four Gospels (Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).   Let us respect the power and grace of God, which works through all things in ways that are surprising, despise the efforts of rejection and manipulation to do otherwise. 

 

 

 

 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the disciples discussed the appearance of Jesus to the two who walked to Emmaus, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple and blessing God.  Amen.  Thus ended the Gospel of St. Luke.  Today we begin readings in the Gospel of St. Mark.

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Gospel (Greek ευαγγελιον/evangelion) literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  It was a word used frequently in the Roman world of Christ's time, for missives from the emperor regarding his works or achievements, or other proclamations of the state.  Here, my study Bible explains that it refers not to Mark's writings per se, but it is the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry. That is, here, the preparation by the one we know as Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's 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.' "  St. Mark quotes from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, giving us the prophecies that are fulfilled in St. John the Baptist's role as forerunner to the Christ.  

 

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.  My study Bible explains that the call to repentance was traditional for prophets.  Note that St. John's baptism is a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins:  it did not grant that remission, but prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ to come.  John is the last and the greatest in the line of the Old Testament type prophets, and is thus a figure of the Law.  Like the Law, my study Bible notes, he denounced sin but could not remit ("put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can, and that is Christ.

 

 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."  John is clothed in a manner which is like that of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  It helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6).  Here, we observe John in his role as forerunner to the Christ, preparing the people and pointing the way to the Lord.

 

 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."  This event of Christ's Baptism is known as Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God) or Epiphany ("showing forth" or "manifestation").  It is a revelation of the Holy Trinity, in the Spirit descending like a dove, the Father's voice from heaven, and the naming of Christ as the beloved Son.  In the earliest years of the Church, this event was celebrated together with Nativity (Christmas) on January 6th.  

 

 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.  This Christ's temptation by Satan and forty day period in the wilderness is reported in more detail in Matthew 4:1-10 and Luke 4:1-13.  Note the motivating action of the Spirit; He drove Christ into the wilderness to be tempted.  The word translated as "drove" can also be understood as meaning to "throw."

 

In today's reading we are given a kind of continuity of the evolving story of creation and salvation.  In the long and ancient line of Old Testament prophets comes John the Baptist.  He is a prophet himself, and is considered in the Church to be the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets.  But our text tells us, by giving us quotations from Malachi and Isaiah, how John himself fits into what has been prophesied about him -- he who in turn prophesies about Christ, the Messiah.   There is a continuity of expression going hand in hand, from ancient times even to the present, and such sequence and fulfillment of God's ongoing work of creation is here in these words for us, in these images of prophecy and fulfillment of prophecy, and an ever-expanding way of salvation opening and being fulfilled as they move through time and the events of spiritual history.  So, our text makes it clear today that we are being given another important story in that history, perhaps the most important story, the centerpoint of all spiritual history, and that is the advent of Jesus Christ and, in today's reading, the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  John the Baptist, Old Testament style prophet, is the last in a long line of those who prophesy the Messiah, but he also baptizes Christ the Messiah, and so in this sense fulfills a role in the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world in His public ministry.  As part of this fulfillment of all righteousness,  John helps to facilitate this setting of God's manifestation to the world as the Holy Trinity, in the Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus, in the voice of the Father making itself present, and the declaration that Jesus is the beloved Son.  Moreover, John himself even steps into a role already created by another, in the clothing and spirit of Elijah who was prophesied to return before the Christ.  This continuity is ever important to us, because what it teaches us is that each of us, from the least to the greatest, have a role to play in this unfolding story.  The expression of the action of the Spirit "throwing" or "driving" Christ into the wilderness to be tempted teaches us about the power of the Spirit at work behind all things.  It teaches us about a pattern of manifestation and fulfillment that has its purpose in God's fulfillment of the potentials and meanings of creation, and that this story is ongoing.  Therefore, each of us, when we seek God's will for our own lives, agrees to play a part in this same story, stepping into the continuity of all those who've come before us, and playing a part in God's work in creation and the ongoing salvation story of all that God has created.  We might not think of ourselves as participants in God's energies and work, but in point of fact we are a part of this creation already whether we think about it this way or not.  Our faith has the power to convey to us how to play a role in that ongoing expression of creation, in God's order and fulfillment of God's purposes.  Our baptism sets us forth as capable, meaning this is what we have to offer back to God, the remission of sins making it possible for the fulfillment of God's purposes of holiness in our lives.  We don't know what may come of the small things we do, but we do know the God's will is love, and that our participation in faith may work to increase that love and give us potentials that help us to manifest it in the world in the ways that God asks us to do so.  St. Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  Let us play our part in that purpose, following our saintly ancestors like St. John the Baptist, the messenger sent before Christ.  Let's note also how even the wilderness plays its role in this story of ongoing salvation of all the world.  John the Baptist is the "one crying in the wilderness," and Christ is driven into the wilderness to face temptation by Satan.  All things play a role, and perhaps so do we, even when we may find ourselves also, at times, in the wilderness.