Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!

 

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.  

 

- Matthew 20:29-34

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.   And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.   My study Bible comments that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and also Son of David, a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  Although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, it notes, Jesus calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a patristic spiritual interpretation to this miracle; in that understanding, the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men are persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church, and still attempt today to do so.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

 

 Blindness has an important significance in spiritual terms.  We first might turn to Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding the lamp of the body, or the eye:  "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  My study Bible interprets this symbolically and spiritually, indicating that Christ is referencing the mind.  It says that the mind (νους/nous in Greek) is the spiritual "eye" of the soul.  It illuminates the inner person and governs the will.  To keep one's mind wholesome and pure is fundamental to the Christian life.  This word for mind in Greek is used widely in Orthodox theology to indicate our capacity for the grasping of spiritual things, and is what is understood to be referenced by Christ in the many times He echoes the words of the prophets regarding spiritual blindness (see Isaiah 6:10, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Matthew 13:15, Acts 28:27, Romans 11:8).  In Matthew 15, Jesus referenced the Pharisees as those who are blind, meaning spiritually blind.  When the disciples asked Him if He knows that the Pharisees were offended by His teaching, He replied, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (see Matthew 15:1-20).  But here, by contrast, we are ask to see the poetic symbolism of the Holy Bible in a different way.  For these men, although physically blind, are apparently the only ones in this crowd in Jericho who have true spiritual sight.  They see the truth about Jesus, as is evident in their calling to Him, using correct titles for His authority and Person, such as Lord, and Son of David.  They also perceive enough to know to ask for His mercy, for it is God's mercy in action, even Incarnate, that Jesus embodies for us in the world and in His ministry.  Note also how they are set apart from the crowd, which does not understand Jesus' nature, as evidenced by their attempting to shut down the pleas (read that as "prayers") of the two blind men.  There is also an interesting connection, as occurs in the Gospels from time to time, between the senses of sight and of hearing and of speaking.  For while these blind men may not have the physical use of their sight (their eyes), Jesus stops and encourages them to use what they do have -- their hearing and their ears.  They have already made themselves a chance through the use of their voices, addressing Jesus by true titles, and pleading for mercy.  Here He stops and asks them to explicitly plead or pray for what they want, "What do you want me to do for you?"  They must use their voices to articulate what diminished sense they wish to be restored -- importantly, to be "opened" to them, saying:  "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  We are told of Jesus' response with compassion, and He touched their eyes, and they immediately they received their sight.  These three components of the story:  Christ's compassion, His healing by touch (that His body is life-giving), and the immediacy of the healing are again all hallmarks of Christ's work in the Gospels.  But let us consider once again that before receiving their physical sight, these formerly blind men first had spiritual sight enough to know who Jesus is, to address Him unceasingly despite the attempts of the crowd to silence them, and to respond to Christ's question in the way they were asked to.  It is their spiritual sight, their inner mind's understanding, that comes first, and makes possible this outcome through faith.  It helps also to understand the context of this miracle, the city of Jericho.  Jericho was a low-lying city strongly associated with sin.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is set on the road to Jericho as travelers there were a frequent target for ambush by bandits.  Sin and blindness, such as the blindness of the crowd that seeks to silence the blind men, are strongly correlated; so Jericho functions as a backdrop of a sinful world into which we're all born.  Blindness of many kinds infiltrates our lives in the ways of the world and its limited understanding and sight of the ways of God, and God's salvation plans for us.  Let us consider also that it is often through affliction that we are visited with opportunities for healing in spiritual terms.  Just as these blind men are encouraged by Jesus to use their other senses to communicate with Him and request what they want so they are drawn out in their expressions of what they want, so our own obstacles and perceived "handicaps" and challenges may also be the instruments of our coming to God, our learning to overcome what hinders us and moving toward Christ in our own lives.  Prayer is so often a response to difficult circumstances, and so such opportunities may be in fact in disguise, so to speak, as the ways in which our true enlightenment may be made possible for us.  Let us consider the poetic reality of the Gospels as well as this dimension of how our spiritual lives and God's presence is at work in the world.  For "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).  And to this, the blind men testify.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible

 

 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

 

 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  

 

Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Mark 10:17–31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And he took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

 

  Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus, but to seek advice from one he considers no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's response doesn't deny that He is God, but is meant to lead this rich young man to such knowledge.  

 

 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Formal observance of commandments, my study Bible says, does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but he still lacks something, and for this answer he has come to Jesus. 

 

 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.   Let us make careful note first of the text telling us that Jesus, looking at him, loved him.  So, Christ's teaching here comes from His own perfect love.  There is only one thing this man lacks.  My study Bible comments that in order to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained except if this sacrifice is given freely.  Importantly, the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  In this case, his wealth and possessions had a great grip on this man; such was his attachment that his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions, as they formed a kind of stumbling block to the depth of relationship to God he sought.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To take up the cross and to follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  

 

  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."   My study Bible reports that various interpretations have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  For example, that the word was not camel, but rope (as these sound alike in Aramaic); or that the eye of a needle was the name for a city gate through which a camel might possibly squeeze if it were first unburdened of all its baggage (symbolizing wealth).  In the Talmud, we're told, there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  Whatever this phrase is a reference to, it's an expression of the impossibility of salvation for people who are attached to riches.  My study Bible says this is most clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible with human beings can come to be.

 

 Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."   My study Bible notes that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses or abandon children.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it says, this is a reference to keeping faith under persecution, even if it means losing one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual sense.  That is, fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, houses of worship and fellowship.  

 

Christ speaks of taking up the cross, and following Him.  In this instance, He has just spoken to a well-meaning young man who has many possessions, and truly desires the kingdom of God.  This man has kept the commandments from his youth and is sincere.  But his many possessions are the one thing which keeps him from eternal life.  Why would this be?  We can speculate that perhaps his family name and identity are interlinked with those possessions.  Very commonly in Christ's society, high priestly families formed a part of an aristocratic landowning class.  Perhaps he is one of them.  Since he is called a "rich young ruler" in many versions of the Gospels, we can easily assume his possessions are inherited family wealth, and moreover he shares a position among the ruling families, perhaps in Jerusalem toward which Jesus is now setting out on the road.  It's quite easily possible that any such connections with this young man's "many possessions" could hinder him from freely following Christ.  Whatever the reason, this is Christ's teaching for him, His first commandment should he become a disciple.  The fact that he cannot do so teaches us that in taking up one's cross there is nothing that should stand in the way between us and Christ -- for if there is, we will not get to the goal of eternal life.  The disciples are at first stunned.  "Who then can be saved?" they ask.  Perhaps our first and greatest consideration of today's text should be a reflection on Jesus' words in reply:   "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."   People frequently take these words out of context, to apply them to miracles of manifestation, things which are materially impossible.  But we forget that Jesus is speaking of another kind of miraculous occurrence, and that is salvation itself.  The thing that is impossible with men, but not with God, is the saving grace that transforms us from those who are attached to all of our worldly ideas and circumstances, we who find it so hard to change, into those whom Christ would ask us to become and to be born into eternal life.  For this is what salvation is -- this is what it means to be saved in the context of Christ's words and teachings in our reading today.  When the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" they are referring to those for whom possessions are not a burden nor obstacle in following Christ, who can take up their crosses as He will, and follow Him.  This is what becomes possible with God which is impossible by human effort alone.  For if God is with us, all things become possible -- even those seemingly impossible things which God asks of us.  The disciples themselves say they have left all behind for Him, and in front of them is the long, long road of discipleship and apostleship, in which they will venture with the gospel message of salvation into all the known world.  Indeed their houses and relatives will continue to multiply into the future, even as they do now across the whole world -- houses of worship, mothers and father in the Church, brothers and sisters among the faithful.  Jesus says these things will come with persecutions, as they do even today for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.  That many who are first will be last, and the last first remains our warning for humility and patience in the long road of salvation, which is much greater and far-encompassing than you or I can know.  But we can put faith in Him that what He teaches is true, even as we ourselves find mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and houses in the Church -- even that what we thought impossible becomes possible.  

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. 

 

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.   And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

- Luke 18:31-43 

 

On Saturday we read Jesus was casting out a demon and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.  Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

 

  Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.   Today the lectionary skips ahead from our last reading (Luke 11:14-23; see above) to chapter 18, as Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem and is now approaching Jericho.  This is the third warning in Luke's Gospel that Jesus has given to the disciples about what will happen to Him after they reach Jerusalem.  But this saying was hidden not by God, my study Bible says, but because the disciples could not comprehend its meaning until after the events of His Passion had taken place.  

 

 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.   And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.   So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  This road going past Jericho on the way toward Jerusalem was a notorious stretch to travel, that made its way through a deep canyon to elevations below sea level.  Jericho was known as a place for sin, but this route was popularly marked by its treacherous dangers because of bandits and robbers who could hide in caverns and attack travelers.  It is this road which gave the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan (see this reading).  The blind man greets Jesus with a title associated with the Messiah, Son of David.  

 

 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  Note that Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  My study Bible comments that, although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also in patristic commentary a spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  In St. Matthew's version of this story (Matthew 20:29-34), there are two blind men.  In that interpretation, they symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  The ones who try to silence the blind man symbolize persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church.  But nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ. 

 

It's easy to see this notorious road (St. Jerome called it "the Bloody Way") as a place synonymous with sin and all of its dangers.  A place that sloped to 1,000 feet below sea level (while Jerusalem is 3,000 feet above), it was an extremely steep mountain road with blind turns, and rocky narrow passes -- so travelers were easy prey for bandits.  So we come to another analogy for a life steeped and mired in sin -- blindness.  The blind man is an easy symbol for those of us so used to a way of life, or a particular environment, that we only see things one way, and we have no idea of what a different life we could be living, or what aberrations pass for normal in what we know.  We can see what the environment is like for this blind man in the responses of the people who surround him.  In the spiritual interpretation cited by my study Bible, we see an understanding that the people who try to silence the blind man have been historically seen as stand-ins for tyrants and persecutors who try to silence the Church and her faithful.  But we can broaden this understanding to include a possible interpretation of an entire environment steeped in denial of faith, where people prefer that others remain blind and silent, and oppress to the extent that those who do wish to seek Christ find it very difficult to do so.  If we look at the blind man as an individual seeking to grasp any hope of making his way out of his blindness, we can see the image of social forces that would suppress these urges in those who would seek Christ and His Kingdom for themselves.  The pressure to shush and to be quiet in that perspective is a pressure to silence our internal demands for safe spiritual space, the save haven of the kingdom of God as Christ gives it to us through His gospel message.  The urge to reach out to Christ is met here by Jesus, who clearly always knows what we want and need, as He knows our hearts more deeply than we know them.  But in the story, His standing still on the road, commanding that this blind man be brought to Him, shows His own will to engage those who recognize they need Him.  His engagement is made clear in that He does not simply give to the man what he needs, but makes him ask, by first asking the man, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  This explicit question demanding an explicit answer is perhaps our best testimony as to how Christ wants to engage us:  direct, personal, and knowing what we want in our own hearts.  In some sense, it gives us the truth that what He offers is a precious gift, on offer to all the world, but not given to all without the depth of knowledge of how badly we need it, and how priceless it truly is.  As Jesus says Himself, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).  The blindness in today's story also extends, significantly, to the disciples, who cannot "see" or discern the meaning in Christ's warnings of what is to come in Jerusalem.  Perhaps it is that they are so fixed on their own expectations of a material kingdom manifesting, that they simply cannot take in what He's warning them about; perhaps they are afraid to do so.   As is common with many of us hearing shocking or dread news, they can't take it in and comprehend what it means to them.  The people on the road who shush the blind man represent another kind of blindness, common to social crowds today, as it was in Christ's time when so many in the crowds get Christ completely wrong and fail to understand who He is (Luke 9:18-19).  Perhaps it is true, in some sense, that it is this blind man who is the one who can truly see, as it is he who not only reaches to Christ -- despite the oppressive efforts of the crowd to silence him -- but knows what he needs and who can give that to him.  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" is a cry for help, for what we need, made to the One who can give it to us, if we but understand His truth.  So it is that it finds its way to the prayer we reach to, the one that permeates our liturgies and worship, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!"  It's worthy to say at any time, any moment, even in the midst of crowds that deny its importance.  If we know our own blindness, and have a sense that we need spiritual sight, we may call on Him despite the noisy crowds that would drown out our needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 

- Mark 10:46–52 

 

Yesterday we read that now the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  My study Bible has rather extensive notes on today's passage, beginning with the comment that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign which was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5).  This is considered to be a power which God had reserved for God alone (compare to John 9:32).  Bartimaeus calls Jesus by the messianic title Son of David, which shows us his faith that Jesus was truly the Christ.  Moreover, in addition to the terms of the story, there is a patristic spiritual interpretation to this miracle.   As my study Bible explains it, Jericho was a low-lying city long associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  In this spiritual interpretation of the passage, therefore, Jericho symbolizes fallen humanity.  In that context, Jesus passing through Jericho is an image of the Incarnation itself; God becoming human and walking in the fallen world. When Christ restores sight to Bartimaeus, then, it parallels His restoring humanity to glory (receiving light, so to speak, and illuminating them).  Having been restored, healed, and made whole by Christ, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom -- symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday; in the passage that follows, Mark 11:1-11).

When we stop to think about the setting of Jesus and the disciples on the road toward Jerusalem, we might do well to consider how in our own lives shifting goals change our perspectives and the meanings in the things we experience.  For one example, consider a young person who chooses to set a goal of going to medical school and becoming a doctor.  This shifts perspective to a place where each experience becomes filled with potential for learning how to become a good doctor.  Mathematics helps with understanding of chemistry; even seemingly simple business experience helps with considering how to eventually run a medical office.  All things and experiences might contribute to that goal.  Jesus and the disciples on the road toward Jerusalem help to teach us that lesson, because -- as we've observed through recent readings in the Gospels -- they go toward a goal the disciples don't really understand as of yet.  Jesus' glorification will not be the kind of worldly glory they understand from the world around them; neither are they prepared by the popular expectations of the Jewish messiah to deliver Israel from her worldly troubles with a resurrection of David's kingdom.  The Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus will shift and change everything, fill their present experiences with meanings they don't yet know -- and this is the surprising healing of human nature my study Bible speaks about regarding the spiritual understanding of today's story.  When our heads are simply filled with worldly or earthly images of what would make us great or glorious, how can we understand such sacrifice, or even what it is to be "great" on Christ's terms?  This is suggested by yesterday's reading (above), when Jesus tells John and James Zebedee, "You do not know what you ask."  For our eyes to be truly opened requires illumination on levels far deeper than material sight; it requires of us an understanding given through the light of Christ not just to intellect but to soul and spirit, to levels of the mind and heart that need healing, and adjustment to that change.   After Christ's Passion and Resurrection, and after Pentecost and all of the events of the establishment of the early Church with its persecutions, John and James Zebedee would have a much better idea of what they were asking about.  The illumination of blind Bartimaeus is the beginning of sight, to follow Christ out of the habitation of Jericho and whatever could be understood from this environment, and on into Jerusalem and beyond.  Jesus' glorification puts a completely different light on what makes greatness, what the light of glory is.  It's a different kind of goal that throws light even on suffering, for in suffering with us, our Lord engaged with the world and the pain of evil so that He could heal us and give us new meanings even in our own suffering.  In our modern world, we are often focused on a materialist perspective, one in which the things we consume and amass seem to define success and glory in life, for all kinds of reasons.  But we still (obviously) need Christ's healing in our modern "Jericho" environment.  In St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus teaches, "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing" (Luke 12:23).  As we head towards Holy Week, and the final week of Christ's earthly life, let us keep this in mind as He goes through His Passion and to Resurrection.  For our own suffering is transfigured and healed this same way and no other.  It is only after Bartimaeus receives his sight that he can follow Jesus on the road.  When we see clearly, we can do so, too.

You do not know what you ask

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' "   And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study Bible says that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and to strengthen the disciples, as they will come to face terrifying events.  Let us make careful note of the fact that they are now on the road and going up to Jerusalem.  Additionally, my study Bible also comments that these warnings by Jesus confirm that He is going to His death in Jerusalem of His own will and choosing. 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."  In our readings from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Jesus has already been addressing the question of "greatness" among His disciples.  In yesterday's reading (above), Jesus addressed the question of great possessions and the obstacle that can be to entering the kingdom of God.  Here, my study Bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and shows an earthly misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.   In Matthew's Gospel it's reported that the mother of Zebedee's sons makes the request for this honor, but as is clear in the Greek text, Christ responds by addressing them in the plural ("What do you want Me to do for you?"; verse 36).  My study Bible notes also that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It says that the Cross is a cup because He drinks it willingly (Hebrews 12:2); His death is baptism because He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Here it is also noted that Christ's words to the Zebedee brothers are a prophecy.  That they will indeed participate in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom which both would lead after Pentecost.  Furthermore, that Christ says the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean that He lacks authority.  What it means is that these are not Christ's to give arbitrarily.  He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  With regard to sitting as equals on Christ's right and left hand in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom says that no one could possibly occupy a position like that.  In terms of the highest places of honor given to human beings, my study Bible notes that the icons of the Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women - Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (the greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  

 

 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  For many as used here is an Aramaic expression, which means "for all."

As pointed out above, in several readings this week Jesus has addressed the issue of greatness and what that is in His Church and His Kingdom.  Therefore, it is somewhat surprising at this stage that these apostles, John and James Zebedee, who together with St. Peter make up three "pillars of faith," should now come to Christ with this request.  They are the ones, together with Peter, whom Jesus has taken with Him in times that called for the greatest strength of faith:  in the healing of Jairus' daughter, and at the Transfiguration (and the healing that followed).  It seems quite possible that, at this stage when Jesus' intention is very clear that He is setting off on the road to Jerusalem, the brothers (and their mother, as indicated in St. Matthew's Gospel), believe that the purpose of going to Jerusalem is to inaugurate this Kingdom, which they assume will be an earthly one.  Perhaps it is, after all, because James and John have been so close to Jesus as part of His "inner circle" together with Peter that they seek these places of honor. But, as in the cases where Peter's behavior is disappointing (such as in his denials of Christ to come at Mark 14:29-31), or the times the disciples haven't measured up to the kind of faith Christ would ask of them (as in this reading), or have so lacked understanding it seemed to exasperate Jesus (in this reading), perhaps we are given these examples by the disciples to teach us something important.  For we learn primarily that discipleship is not a one-time quiz or test that we either pass or fail, but a lifelong journey.  Indeed the word for disciple in the Greek of the Gospels means "learner" (μαθητής/mathetes).  In modern Greek this word is used to mean "student."  Discipleship, in the context of the Gospels, is a lifelong road.  And we can see for ourselves, through the remarkably short three-year period of Christ's ministry, how the disciples grow and become the apostles they would eventually be.  As my study Bible pointed out, both John and James Zebedee (also named "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus as we read in Mark 3:17) would truly both drink Christ's cup and be baptized with His baptism.  James would be the first of the apostles to be martyred (in AD 44, beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem; see Acts 12:2).  John would go on to a long life of persecution and exile, producing one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation, as well as caring for Mary the Mother of God (John 19:26).  So what is it that will take these two men (and presumably their mother) from the ones who demand the two most important places in Christ's Kingdom, on His right and on His left, to the ones who would serve with the kind of greatness that Jesus has described over the course of the past several readings?  Christ's Passion itself, just ahead of them in Jerusalem, will without a doubt take them through its shattering realities and the tremendous story of Christ's sacrifice "for many," as Jesus prophesies in today's reading.  But the powerful spiritual realities to come, of Resurrection, and of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well as the growth of the Church and its many servants to come, will no doubt have their effects upon all of them.  Let us take these examples to heart, and understand that for each of us, our journey forward into discipleship and deepening faith might very well take us through the deep changes of heart and mind as exemplified by these Sons of Thunder.  Let us be grateful for the grace we're given and the examples in the Gospels.  When these men make their request of Jesus, He tells them truthfully, "You do not know what you ask."  But they would learn in time, and through faith.  Let us remember that we, also, may have a lot to learn along the way.  Clearly, when we pray, we also may not know what we ask.  Let us keep our patience and keep learning as disciples throughout our lives, and pray for the grace to change and accept what we're meant to learn. 

What do you want Me to do for you?

 

 Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. 

 

- Mark 10:46-52 

 

Yesterday we read that they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before the disciples; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."   Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Now they came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.   Of today's passage, my study Bible comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign that was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), a power which God had reserved for God alone (compare John 9:32).  Son of David was a messianic title, which shows that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ.   In patristic commentary there is also a spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  My study Bible explains that Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  In this case, it symbolizes fallen humanity.  Christ passing through Jericho then becomes an image of His Incarnation.  That He restores sight to Bartimaeus is a parallel to His restoring humanity to glory.  Having been made whole by Christ, human nature is now capable of following Christ on the road to the Kingdom, which is symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (the following reading as we begin chapter 11).

If we follow the spiritual interpretation of today's reading that is reported by my study Bible, we might want to ponder a little more deeply this understanding that Christ's healing power makes us capable of following Him on the road to the Kingdom.  Bartimaeus' blindness, in the language of the Gospels, makes his sight darkened.  His eyes are incapable of taking in light.  In this symbolic sense, the light of the world illuminates all things, presents to us the reality of the things of the world, for everything is made clear by light and the quality of light we're capable of seeing.  The fullest spectrum of light is a bright white, which gives us true hues and the quality of a sharp and brilliant image.  All of these metaphors of light and darkness, of illumination and blindness, are meant to help us to understanding the powerful effect of Christ and what He does to restore us to our capabilities.  In this case, that would particularly apply to our capabilities for discernment (another analogy to "seeing").  If we take this metaphor to a fuller sense, we might consider how all the world is utterly dependent upon sunlight for everything; without it, the world and all lives within the world would die or become extinct.  What Christ does by restoring Bartimaeus' capacity for taking in the light is make it possible for him to see and discern the way toward greater illumination.  As my study Bible puts it, He makes it possible for Bartimaeus to follow Him on the road to Jerusalem, toward the fullness of the Kingdom.  He gives us the capacity to discern the light, so that we also may grow and have the capability for a kind of fullness only He can lead us toward.  So we must consider healing to be, if not a simple restoration to the fullness of glory, a kind of restoration to the capability of pursuing and finding that glory, which is the true spiritual journey of the soul.  Only He can lead us there but we first need the capacity to follow Him, to grasp that He holds the spiritual truth we need and the light that feeds us and that is necessary to support all life.  Let us note Jesus' question to Bartimaeus, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  In yesterday's reading (above), Jesus asked the same question of John and James Zebedee.  But He could not fulfill their request, only that they could follow Him on the road in their own journeys as disciples into the fullness of whatever future and image that was held for them.  In today's reading, Jesus answers Bartimaeus' request in the positive, fulfilling what he asks.  But this healing makes Bartimaeus also capable, as John and James Zebedee, of following Him on the road to Jerusalem and to whatever future awaits in that life of the Kingdom for him.  And this is healing for each of us:  that we may perceive that light and follow where it leads us, for growth, flourishing, and the glory that awaits in the image He has for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many

 

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Matthew 20:17-28 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth  hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

  Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  This is the third time Christ has taught the disciples about what is to come in Jerusalem.  My study Bible comments that His repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen them to face the terrifying events that would come.   Theophan suggests that it is as if Christ were saying, "Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging on the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise."

 

 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  Once again we see the disciples concerned for personal greatness in Christ's kingdom.  Only this time, it is specific to Zebedee's sons (the disciples James and John).  We know that previously they asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (see this reading), after which Jesus has spent considerable time teaching about humility and gracious behavior to even the littlest ones in His Church.  Jesus has counseled a rich young ruler to sells his possessions and give to the poor and become a disciple (in this reading), after which Peter asked, concerned, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?" (in Tuesday's reading).  After this, Jesus taught them the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (in yesterday's reading, see above).  So this request comes with a history of concern and teachings by Jesus over the subject of both positions of authority in the Kingdom and how that authority is to be used.  My study Bible comments, in that context, that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and also shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  Matthew tells us that it is the mother of Zebedee's sons who makes the request for this honor, but the brothers' involvement is revealed as Jesus address them in the plural "you" (evident in the Greek text); see also Mark 10:35.  Jesus calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  My study Bible explains that the Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2), and His death is baptism because He was completely immersed in it -- yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  It further notes that Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism is a revelation of the life of persecution and martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost.  When He declares that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give, He doesn't mean that He lacks authority.  Rather, it means that they aren't His to give arbitrarily; instead, they will be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  In terms of sitting as equals on the right and left of Christ in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that there is no one who could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can e given to human beings, in the icons of the Church it is universally depicted that the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women - Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (the greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11) hold these places.

 

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Once more, Jesus teaches the disciples about leadership and authority in His Church.  This time He directly contrasts the kind of power wielded in the empires and kingdoms of the Gentiles (such as the court of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, for example) with what power and positions of greatness should mean in His Church among them.  My study Bible says that He first corrects the disciples by comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and then He contrasts them to Himself, who serves us although He is Lord of all.

In modern times, there is a famous political quotation often repeated as one that inspires true patriotism.  It was made by President John Kennedy at his inaugural address in January 1961.  President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."  While political programs and aims to garner votes might seem today far away from this high ideal, this statement by President Kennedy continues to be invoked as one that is truly inspired and inspiring.  It seems to me a statement predicated on the ideas of Jesus regarding service as the epitome of greatness, applied in a common political setting of patriotism to one's country.  If we can still, in our modern culture, pay tribute to this sentiment as good and inspiring, then let us take seriously Christ's absolute insistence on this foundation of power for His Church, and among those who would follow Him.  We need to take it very seriously and apply it to ourselves and to our Church today.  We can look around ourselves and see all kinds of ways in which notions of power and its use remain a stumbling block to those in authority and even to the rest of us.  Our churches stumble with stories of abuse of "little ones," or stories of abuse of position for personal gain, expenditures and wealth, and position in the society.  We don't have to name them all to be familiar with them!  But we should still take the time to appreciate how extraordinarily important Christ's teachings are on this subject.  Not only are they the great focus in the many recent readings in Matthew's Gospel preparing the disciples for the journey to Jerusalem and the events that will happen there, but they remain the bedrock and foundation of teaching for what His Church should be like.  This doesn't apply only to our leadership, but to all of us.  We are to be models to all the rest, a paradigm of what it is to be in God's kingdom, and we are to shine the light of God's glory through our love and care of one another (Matthew 5:16).  It is this notion of service that Christ so clearly takes great pains to distinguish from the notions of greatness of the rulers of the Gentiles, who "lord it over" one another and exercise great authority over others as signs of greatness.  Well, we followers of Christ are, for the most part, descendants of those Gentiles and those systems, and it is up to us to be vigilant regarding our own understanding of power -- and more importantly, what makes a person truly "great."  In a modern time it is easy to mistake prescriptions for virtuous behavior for the kind of graciousness Christ is teaching, but if we think this is merely about following the rules then I fear we have missed the point.  There will always be those in every nominal group who have no currency, who are considered to be outsiders, unpopular, looked down upon simply for reasons of identity and not for anything they have done.  This is an unfortunate fact of human societies, and it hasn't changed despite our efforts to teach these gracious teachings of Christ about how power should be used if we are His followers.  Let us consider what it means to be loyal enough to Christ to ask ourselves what our social life should look like when we approach it with the idea of service in mind.  What is God's ideal of service?  How do we practice a kind of love that is compassionate, and at the same time not kowtowing to whims of fashion or current prejudice being offered as enlightened social decree (often for someone's personal gain)?  How do we truly build up community in this sense of service that gives true glory to God, spreads the light of Christ, and at the same time lends dignity to the notion that we are all made to dwell in God's image, to behold God's face in others, and to keep in mind that the angels of the most humble always behold God's face in heaven?  Let us consider what it means to serve Christ and Christ's community in this sense, to love God and neighbor -- and to expect the same of those in leadership.  For we ourselves must take on this mantle we're given, and set the example as best we can, with whatever place we have in life. 

 

 

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

 

Deësis (Supplication) mosaic; the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist depicted on Christ's right and left.  13th century, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Byzantine Cathedral, Constantinople.  Photo by Myrabella, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  As Jesus and the disciples are on the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus before them, the shadow of the Cross hangs over the present and future readings.  The disciples are accordingly both amazed and afraid.  My study Bible comments that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  It says that they also confirm that Christ was going to His death of His own free will and choosing.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Besides Peter, James and John Zebedee are the two disciples who are closest to Christ and deepest in faith; perhaps this accounts for their request to be in the greatest places in His Kingdom, at His right and left hand.  In Matthew's Gospel, it's reported that the request comes from their mother ("the mother of Zebedee's sons," in Matthew 20:20), but the sons' own involvement is revealed as Jesus addresses them in the plural form of you in Greek, both here and in Matthew 20:22.  My study Bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  Once again, Jesus emphasizes the nature of this Kingdom, that those who would be greatest in it are those who will serve.   The phrase for many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."  That Jesus frames His life as a ransom is to suggest that to give His life will work to liberate all, as a Deliverer and Savior in this sense.  It suggests that "the many" are held captive under the power of a tyrant, also referred to as the "ruler of this world." 

 

 Once again, the actions of even Christ's closest disciples show that they do not understand fully what is happening or is about to happen.  The disciples follow Him on the road toward Jerusalem and are both amazed and afraid.  James and John clearly expect a worldly sort of kingdom, which Jesus frames as a Gentile kingdom in which rulers "lord it over" others -- and to which He contrasts what His Kingdom will be, and what sort of leaders they will be.  My study Bible explains that He calls His crucifixion a "cup" and His death a "baptism."  The Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  That Jesus predicts the future of John and James as participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they will lead after Pentecost; James will be the first disciple to die as martyr, and John will lead a long life of persecution.  My study Bible also explains that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean He lacks authority.  Rather, it means they aren't His to give arbitrarily.  Instead, they will be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that nobody can occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor given to human beings, the icons of the Orthodox church universally depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women -- Matthew 11:11) in these places at the right and left hand of Christ.  Christ suggests His life is given as a ransom for many, meaning to liberate or to deliver all, as a savior.  Much speculation on the word "ransom" has been made across the centuries, but for the patristic writers and founders of Christian theology the question of payment was not answered in a trivial manner.  To whom was this ransom paid?  I will quote St. Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory Nazianzus) for the most complete answer to this question:  "Now we are to examine another fact and dogma, neglected by most people, but in my judgment well worth enquiring into. To Whom was that Blood offered that was shed for us, and why was it shed?  I mean the precious and famous Blood of our God and Highpriest and Sacrifice. We were detained in bondage by the Evil One, sold under sin, and receiving pleasure in exchange for wickedness. Now, since a ransom belongs only to him who holds in bondage, I ask to whom was this offered, and for what cause?  If to the Evil One, fie upon the outrage!  If the robber receives ransom, not only from God, but a ransom which consists of God Himself, and has such an illustrious payment for his tyranny, a payment for whose sake it would have been right for him to have left us alone altogether.  But if to the Father, I ask first, how? For it was not by Him that we were being oppressed; and next, on what principle did the Blood of His Only begotten Son delight the Father, Who would not receive even Isaac, when he was being offered by his father, but changed the sacrifice, putting a ram in the place of the human victim?  Is it not evident that the Father accepts Him, but neither asked for Him nor demanded Him; but on account of the Incarnation, and because Humanity must be sanctified by the Humanity of God, that He might deliver us Himself, and overcome the tyrant, and draw us to Himself by the mediation of His Son, Who also arranged this to the honor of the Father, Whom it is manifest that He obeys in all things? So much we have said of Christ; the greater part of what we might say shall be reverenced with silence" (St. Gregory Nazianzen, Second Paschal Oration, with thanks to Fr. Stephen Freeman).  Everything rests upon the foundation of the Incarnation, that God became human, in order to heal every aspect of humanity, including the defeat of death itself, which St. Paul calls "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).  Christ is the "stronger Man" who defeats the "strong man" of this world (Mark 3:23-30), and there could be no greater power of ransom or liberation than this holy and mysterious reality of Jesus Christ and the Cross toward which He goes on the road to Jerusalem.  For God became human to liberate us all from sin, even from death; His cup and baptism will liberate (ransom) us all.  This is the unique power of His Cross, which defeats every enemy, and is all in all.