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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

- Mark 9:30–41 

 

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

 

  Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  Here Jesus predicts for a second time to the disciples His death and Resurrection (see this earlier reading for the first).  My study Bible says that this repeated prediction is meant to show that He is going to His Passion freely, and not being taken against His will.  

 

 Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."   The disciples have been disputing who would be the greatest.  This is because, at this time, Jesus has begun the long journey toward Jerusalem, and has prophesied to them more than once what is going to happen there at His Passion and Resurrection.  They do not understand what it means; it's still mysterious to them.  But it's likely they presume that there He will come into His Kingdom, and this they envision to be a worldly type of kingdom, the common expectations of the Messiah among the people.  So when they dispute who would be greatest, they're speculating among themselves who will get the highest place among them in this worldly kingdom they imagine is coming.  My study Bible comments that it indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Addressing this particular problem, Jesus points to a little child as a model of true discipleship.  He emphasizes thereby the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  These are, as noted by my study Bible, humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  

 

 Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  My study Bible remarks that Theophylact sees John's comment as a regret, that John's conscience has been pricked by Christ's teachings on being first and last.  But St. Ambrose, on the contrary, sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany such blessings.  In either interpretation, my study Bible comments, Christ's response shows that those who act in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact comments on this similar passage in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 9:46-50), "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples."  See also Numbers 11:24-30.  On those who would use Christ's name without good faith, see Luke 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.

 

 Jesus teaches the disciples about greatness in today's reading.  He defines it through humility and through service.  He takes a little child in His arms, and tells them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."   To honor God -- even God the Father -- is to seek to receive and to save even the least of these among us, even a little child.  Yet there will be more talk and more teachings about the relevance of little children to discipleship.  Jesus will teach, a little later on in St. Mark's Gospel, "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Mark 10:14; see also Matt 18:3-4, Luke 18:17).  This adds another dimension of humility to our understanding of discipleship.  For, what does it mean to become like a little child (or "as a little child") but to understand that we have so much to learn?  Humility, then, is receiving God and the things God seeks to teach us like a little child, who knows that they have so much to learn.  Indeed, in the Orthodox theological tradition, there is what is understood as an apophatic orientation.  What this means is that, as we understand there is so much more to God than we know, it is wiser to make negative statements regarding what we know God is not, than to proclaim what God is.  For God is so infinitely unknowable compared to our capacity for discerning and receiving God.  Only God is capable of fully knowing God in this sense in which we seek to know a person or a thing.  To become like a little child is to admit that we don't know.  When we approach God as a little child we are an appropriate disciple, for we approach with our minds open to be taught.  We remove our assumptions and our need to prove that we know better; perhaps even more importantly, we prepare to let go of the certainties we think we know, the follow God's direction for expanding our understanding and hence orientation to life.  If once upon a time I always assumed X was correct, perhaps as I grow in maturity spiritually I will grow to see the wisdom of a different way.  For this author personally, that has for a very long time been a process of coming to understand the traditions of the Church in a way I could not see and perhaps could not receive when I was younger.  It has meant discarding my own fears and reservations, and coming to see what was always there, but which I could not perceive without becoming more like a little child in my own orientation toward God, and in my prayers.  For this understanding, I had to un-learn a lot of assumptions and popular theories, and to incorporate in my own life the glimmers of wisdom in the Church I hadn't previously been able to understand.  And this is grace, to become like a little child in order to receive God's grace, Christ's teachings, where the Spirit seeks to lead in teaching us who we need to be and to become.  This is a lifetime process, just like the growth of a little child is an ongoing process.  To receive a little child, or even an adult, in Christ's name, is more than simply to practice graciousness, for perhaps the key phrase here is "in My name" as Christ teaches it.  For this is the true Kingdom He's speaking about; when we act in His name we are within the grounds of the kingdom of God, and clearly, as Jesus teaches us, the rules in this Kingdom are different than those of a worldly kingdom.   In His name, the stature of a little child is as if one receives even God the Father.  He also teaches in today's reading, "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  Note again, that qualifying phrase, "in My name."  Once again this stamp, like the seal of a royal king or emperor, means that we are in the realm of His kingdom, not a worldly kingdom.  And there, even those who practice the smallest grace in His name and for the sake of another belonging to His name "will by no means lose his reward."  Let us consider all the things it may mean to become as a little child in order to receive and to dwell in this Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

- Matthew 7:-12

 

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

 

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  My study Bible comments here that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the very things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We ourselves have failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  To pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The phrase "with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" is also found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38.  Each is used in a different context, and there is no doubt Jesus taught this important message many times.  

 

"Do not give what is holy to dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study Bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but would also include Jews who do not practice virtue.  According to patristic commentary, "dogs" are those so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and "swine" are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  Pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, it notes, including Christ's teachings (Matthew 13:46) and the great sacraments.  These holy things are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant.  This is not in order to protect the holy things themselves, as Christ needs no protection.  But we protect faithless people from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  See also Luke 23:8-9 for Jesus' response to Herod's questioning.

 

 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  The verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives.  In other words, their effect is to say "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here which my study Bible cites:  our effort is commanded, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer, we seek by learning God's truth, and we knock by doing God's will.  My study Bible also comments that people are called evil here not to condemn the whole race of human beings, but to contrast the imperfect goodness that is in people (that is, our goodness is mixed with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see Matthew 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, so all the more will God work perfect good.  

 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  The "Golden Rule" fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets, says my study Bible, and it's also a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:39-40).  My study Bible calls it a first step in spiritual growth.  It adds that the negative form of the Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was well-known in Judaism.  Jesus' form, however, is positive, and this is the action that begins to draw us toward God.  See also Luke 6:31.

 

 In the context of the Sermon on the Mount as a whole, and in particular today's reading, we need to make sense of it in terms of being directed at disciples, those who follow Him.  We're first told, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  This is another form of the Golden Rule in today's last verse, but applied specifically to judgment.  How do we look at our neighbors, or in particular our fellow disciples of Christ?  We should consider how we wish to be judged, for we will be judged the same way.  It seems to me this is directly invoking how we treat one another.  Jesus goes on, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye"  In chapter 18 of St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will speak of mutual self-correction in the Church.  This verse reflects this notion of mutual correction as a way of helping with discipleship, and emphasizes the humility necessary to do this appropriately.  In monastic practice, a good elder is one who is experienced spiritually, so that their own knowledge of themselves and their mistakes and corrections can be beneficial to others, and they may correct helpfully and with love and mercy, not the kind of judgment Christ forbids here.  If we're blind to our own errors, we're in no position to help, and will easily practice projection upon others.  In this context we read, "Do not give what is holy to dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  For a person to benefit from spiritual help, they must be disposed toward acceptance and not rejection.  Even the greatest spiritual treasure may be hated by one who does not wish to accept it.  Jesus then says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  This is a great exhortation to spiritual growth and discipleship, for it emphasizes the generous nature of God for those who do seek and ask and knock with sincerity.  As my study Bible points out, these are meant to be ongoing always with us; it's a continual pursuit and practice. We keep asking, keep praying, keep knocking through the practices and resources we have in the Church. And the world needs that resource and experience.  Finally, here again is the summing up:  "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Do you want to learn?  Then help teach.  Do you value kindness, humility, mercy?  Then offer it to others, and in particular we need to model this among the faithful in the ways we treat one another.  Do you wish to gain self-knowledge, spiritual understanding?  Offer what you have, but be properly discerning.  This message of the Golden Rule is a deep emphasis on the communion involved in all of this pursuit of following Christ in discipleship.  God is first of all our Father in heaven, as Jesus references God, so let us understand what we are to be about, all the time.  Let us understand that the good God who gives to us may also reward us with knowledge of ourselves, even of what we need to change in our habits or ways of thinking.  But we continue to ask and seek and knock for how to go forward in God's love and teaching.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. 

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, returning to Capernaum, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them al outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?  So they were offended at Him.  Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth (His own country).  My study Bible comments on this double response of being both astonished and offended is a frequent occurrence with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in His own country foreshadows His rejection by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus brothers are either children by an earlier marriage of His earthly guardian, St. Joseph, or extended family such as cousins (even today in the Middle East, "brother" is used for extended family; and there are many examples in Scripture of this use).  

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Christ could do no mighty work there in His hometown, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  My study Bible notes that while grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  Note Christ's response to His rejection:  He travels through the villages in a circuit, teaching -- and giving the word of the gospel to those who might listen and truly hear.  That "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house" is so significant, it is found in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent. Here is another important and notable response to rejection:  Christ called the twelve He had chosen from among His disciples, and began to send them out as apostles on their first missionary journey.  We observe how they are told to go out in humility:  no ostentatious clothing or possessions with them, not even extra food nor money.  They are to stay in whatever place they are first received, and not "trade up" for better accommodations.  My study Bible comments that this is so they cannot be accused of greed, and would also learn dependence upon God.  Here we also find yet another response to rejection, as taught by Christ:  they are simply to shake off the dust under their feet as a testimony against those who will not receive nor hear them.   And, like Christ, they are to move on to the next place as they fulfill their mission and their instructions.  

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. My study Bible says that anointing the sick with oil has not only medicinal value but also sacramental value as well.  As God's healing power is bestowed through creation (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15, 19:11-12), so oil is a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).

We note Jesus' response to rejection.  How powerful this is, for we understand who Christ is.  But let us note that His faith is in the power of God, and the way of the Father.  There is a plan for this world, and just how this gospel message is supposed to work. This plan is infused with mercy and with grace, for we are given time to repent, the purpose and kernel of the message that the apostles are sent out to preach, as they follow in His footsteps.  If Christ had such confidence in this power of God, in this mission of preaching to repentance, and to hearing the gospel message, then how can we not also follow in His footsteps with this kind of faith in how this is supposed to be working?  Note especially that in today's reading, we are given Jesus' response to rejection.  His preaching is powerful:  He does not mince words.  But as Son, He does not try to accumulate material power in the world to preach that message nor to impose faith by coercion.  He teaches the disciples to shake the dust from under their feet as a rebuke to those who will not receive or hear them; that is, to those who will not receive or hear the gospel they preach.  So, we are not to suppose that there is no power in this word or in this ministry, but that we rely on the power of God, on the power of the Holy Spirit at work -- and that the mission is to seek out those with the capacity for faith to draw them in.  Overall, this is what we must see in the world, no matter what we do see in the world.  Today, for many people, the world presents us with some fearful sights, including a great deal of rejection of Christ and the gospel message.  Some will dress up what they think is in the gospel, or teachings in the gospel, only without Christ, and without belief in a God.  But how is it possible, really, to dismiss the Kingdom Jesus preaches and only see it as a set of abstract principles?  To do so is to reduce it to legalism.  Mercy as a principle is a good thing in and of itself, but how does one teach the proper use of mercy without Christ's example, and without the notion of communion that comes with this Kingdom?  If the very energies of God are grace and mercy, how do we leave them out from our own growth in this understanding?  Abstraction cannot teach us the kind of love that a real experience of love, even such an experience in prayer and spiritual communion, will show and teach us.  Peace itself is about right-relatedness, about the righteousness of God dwelling among us.  In Matthew's version of the sending out of the apostles on their first mission, Jesus instructs them:  "And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you" (Matthew 10:12-13).  As we discussed at length the understanding of this "peace" in yesterday's commentary, let me quote from a note in my study Bible about Christ's peace here in His instructions to the Twelve.  It notes that Christ commissions His servants to give a greeting of peace, which is the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), which Christ would also offer to the disciples (John 14:27, 20:19), and which would be revealed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  To this day, it says, Christ's peace is offered to the faithful in the Liturgy, with the words, "Peace be to all."  So, continuing from these thoughts, let us consider now Christ's response to rejection.  The gospel message comes with an offer of peace, of a specific and certain king of peace, not like the peace of the world.  Contained in this gospel message is the peace of Christ, a reconciliation to God that is akin to righteousness, and can be shared with others.  In fact, this peace, if we notice, can be given even without reciprocation, and does not rely upon others for the reality of its existence -- for it exists in Christ, and in faith it may exist in us.  It forms a substance of our communion in Christ, for as He indicates, it is contained in the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom. 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

- Mark 9:30-41

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

Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And right after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  Jesus has only recently been revealed to the disciples as the Christ (see Thursday's reading from last week).  But this is a repeated, second warning to the disciples about the suffering that Jesus will go through, and that they must be prepared for.  Jesus is being explicit:  He will be killed, and rise the third day.  We note again, they still do not understand this saying, and they are afraid to ask Him.  Moreover, there is a repeated note in the fact that Jesus did not want anyone to know that He was passing through Galilee.  In our recent readings, He has tried to avoid public notice by going to Tyre and Sidon (the Gentile region to the north of Galilee) and returning south in a roundabout way, through the Decapolis.  Now He goes again into Galilee, but wants to remain hidden.

Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Jesus returns to His ministry "headquarters" in Capernaum.  But we note He speaks to the disciples in the house and not openly in public.  This is Peter's family home, the "residence" for Christ's ministry.  Apparently, when the disciples understood that He was to die and "rise the third day," they assume this means into the kingdom of Israel, with Christ as eternal ruler, as understood in popular expectation of the time.  With such an understanding, they had disputed among themselves, while on the road, who would be greatest in that worldly kingdom they expect to manifest.  My study bible says that this indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Jesus then begins to teach them about true leadership, what it is to be great in His kingdom and among them all.  They must not think of greatness in  conventional sense, but in a compassionate sense.  To receive a little child in His name is to receive Him -- and to receive Christ is to receive the Father who sent Him.   To care, in whatever capacity we have, for the littlest or least powerful among us, as if we receive Christ, and therefore the Father, is to use the power we have His way.

Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  My study bible cites two commentaries on John's remark about others who cast out demons in the name of Christ.  Theophylact sees this comment as a kind of regret, that they "forbade him because he does not follow us," after Christ's teaching above about the "first" and the "last."  But St. Ambrose, on the other hand, sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany the blessings of discipleship.  But in either interpretation, my study bible concludes, Christ's response shows that all those who act in good faith are not excluded -- even if not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact writes, in commenting on this episode as reported by Luke (Luke 9:46-50), "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples.  Regarding those who use Christ's name without good faith, see Luke 11:23, Acts 19:13-16.  Let us note also how grace works:  even the gift of a cup of water, extended to one of Christ's in the name of Christ, brings a blessing.

Christ uses a little child to teach the disciples about power and its use.  They must not think like the worldly think about power.  Even a little child is one they must receive as if they are receiving Him, and if receiving Him, therefore the Father in heaven who sent Him.  This is how we are told by Christ that we are to receive those who come into our lives, as His disciples.  What a hard and vivid teaching this is, indeed.  I find that this teaching is a great antidote to modern ills that in psychological parlance would be called "violation of boundaries."  Can one imagine the incidents of child abuse -- of any type -- that one may consider if Christ's rules about how we receive even the most powerless in our lives were followed?  It is truly the great teaching about power that we need as antidote to the things that ail us in our world, and which are all around us.  Correction can come with love, discipline, through Christ, comes with love.  Rebukes come with love.  The key to love is truly wanting what is best for the other person.  In the example of the little child, we are often tempted to merely think that this is a description of little children and their virtues as emblems of faithful.  Indeed, this may indeed be the case when Christ speaks of little children this way, as in Matthew 19:14.  But here, Jesus is giving us a different message.  This is not only about little children, but the little children are an example of all the humble, those least powerful among us, whether they be our fellow parishioners or others we meet with in the course of our lives.  Let us consider that Jesus addresses those who will be the pillars of His Church, our first bishops, and He addresses them as those who will lead when He is gone.  He gives us the example of leadership in this reading about little children.  He also teaches us about the communion that is present in His name:  all are linked, from the least to the greatest, to both Christ and to the Father.  God's presence, thereby, is always with us!  Let us remember, also, that today's reading contains the teaching that even a cup of water extended in faith to another one who also belongs to Christ, is noted and known by God, and will bring with it a reward, a blessing.  (To balance, we also recall His warning about giving away what is holy, or  pearls of spiritual beauty to those who will respond with contempt in Matthew 7:6; we are called to discernment, not careless blindness or waste.)  There is no gesture that goes unnoticed, no time when God is not present with us, even God the Father who sends the Son into the world.  It is a teaching for us and for the importance of our lives and what we do -- and moreover a clear teaching about our faith and how powerful a connection it is even when others cannot perceive this.  So how do we use power?  In whose name and for what purpose?  Let us remember God watches and knows, and that we always rely on this presence -- always with us in the Spirit and in the angels with us "who always behold the face of God" (Matthew 18:10) -- to guide us and help us use our own capacity and strengths in the ways He would have us do so.