Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish

 

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  

 

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  

 

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  

"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  

 

- Matthew 18:10-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

 

"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  Again, Jesus refers to the "little ones," as in yesterday's reading, above.  These include not only children, but those who have a childlike humility and simplicity; its meaning is to include all those who are poor in spirit.  Regarding their angels who "always see the face of My Father who is in heaven," my study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who teaches that not only the saints, but that all people have guardian angels.  The angels of humble people, however, have greater boldness and greater honor before the face of God, because of the humility of the person they guard.  It's not the nature of God, my study Bible adds, but the weakness of human beings, that requires the angels' service.  

 

 "What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."  My study Bible reports that, unlike earthly shepherds, Christ sees so much value in one sheep that He will leave the others at risk to save it.  The ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who stay faithful to God (Luke 15:7).  Moreover, according to certain patristic writers, this is also an image of the Incarnation.  In this image the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven, and Christ descended from heaven to pursue the one sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption on earth.  

 

 "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  "   My study Bible explains that church discipline, as Christ states here, is based on mutual correction in three expanding stages.  Sin and correction must remain private, unless the offender refuses to repent.  It notes that all correction must be done with great care and humility,with the highest concern being the salvation of the offender (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 6:1).  But nonetheless, correction must take place so that the sin does not spread to others as well.  Jesus cites the law regarding witnesses in Deuteronomy 19:15.

 

"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  My study Bible claims that the authority to bind and loose sins is given to the apostles and transmitted to the bishops and presbyters they ordained.  This authority, it says, is given for the sake of the salvation of the sinner.  According to St. John Chrysostom, the sinner, "seeing that he is not only cast out of the Church, but that the bond of his sin will remain in Heaven, he may turn and become gentle."

 

 Church discipline is a big question -- and problem -- for many people.  Certainly se can think of scandals involving "little ones" and, in particular, little children.  Regardless of Christ's words here in this chapter promising terrible woe to those in His church who would bring "offenses" (see yesterday's reading, above), the Church has unfortunately weathered storms in which its own people in authoritative positions have been responsible for such offenses.  In today's reading, Jesus tells the disciples, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  It's significant that this is all in response to the question about who is greatest in the Kingdom, the disciples' question about their own future positions in His Church.  So Jesus' first response is to warn against leading the little ones astray through abuses of power.  As someone who speaks to many people exploring and becoming more familiar with the Church and the teachings of Christ, I meet people rather frequently who have stories of what they feel has been abuse in the Church, experiences which had the effect of driving them away for a time.  It is disheartening to find stories like this more frequently than one would hope.  But, indeed, it simply affirms the wisdom of Christ's words and their ongoing importance to the Church, and for all of us, today.  It teaches us about mission and our resilience in this mission of Christ given for the Church, for it is His directions we need to follow, His teachings we need to do our best to uphold and carry out, particularly in His Church.  His wisdom is profound, for we can all see the effects of offenses, and how they cause the "lost" to remain so, even to cause the "little ones" to stray into sin.  ("But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea," we read in yesterday's Gospel reading).  The wisdom of Christ remains for us, and we find out all the better when shortcuts are taken or when corruption intervenes with His teachings for us.  Let us uphold His wisdom and love, for there is the road that takes us where we want and need to go.  Mutual correction may seem like a difficult plan to carry out, but it does affirm for us that any abuses or real offenses experienced in the Church were and are important to Christ, and as we know, there is nothing that escapes God's sight (Matthew 10:29-31).   Let us endeavor to care for the little ones, to prevent sin through love, to help lead all to the Lord His way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness

 

 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

 

- John 12:44-50 

 

In our current readings the setting is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  He has been speaking in the temple in Jerusalem.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.   

 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  My study Bible comments that Christ does not judge with favoritism or partiality.  He has spoken the words of life, words of love, forgiveness, repentance, virtue, and mercy.  It notes that His words will be the unbending standard by which all people are judged on the last day.

 Jesus' final address here in the temple concludes, while the following three chapters deliver to us Jesus' farewell words to His disciples at the Last Supper (John 13 - 17).  Here Jesus' final words sum up what a great deal of John's Gospel has had to teach us about His message and about judgment.  Jesus is here in the world to save, not to condemn (John 3:17).  But the words themselves, given to Him by the Father, constitute judgment:  whatever side of these words one falls upon becomes de facto judgment, for they are the words of life (John 6:63).   Here, He says that they are the Father's commands, and the Father's command is everlasting life.  In this sense, Christ has come "as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."  We might be tempted to abstract out Christ's words and teachings, to decide that without worship, or even without a deity, we can accept His teachings as moral lessons and simply seek to live by them as we will, or as we can.  Many think that this will suffice.  But in order to do that, one would have to strip out all meaning of communion, and the essential importance of Person-to-person relationships that Christ purveys here.  Christ has called Himself the good shepherd:  "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."  He knows the sheep, and the sheep know Him.  They recognize His voice:  "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" (John 10:3-4, 14).  The teachings and commands He gives to us are not abstracted principles, they are living, they are even "everlasting life," and this does not come through cold absolutes, but originate in love, the love the comes from the divine Persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) to us -- and which we may likewise return so that we grow and participate in this communal relationship of love.  This are commands given to us which give us light: the light of a communion of saints, of a Kingdom, of adoption as heirs.  It is unmistakable that we enter into this place where the fullness of our participation is unity, to be eternally with God.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will pray, "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:24-26).  He will institute the Eucharist at the Last Supper, affirming the depth of communion as the substance of faith and worship and His saving mission into the world.  Let us always seek to live in His light which is love (1 John 4:8).  

 

Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven

 

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  

 

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

 

- Matthew 18:10–20 

 

Yesterday we read that at that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."   

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."   In yesterday's reading (above) Jesus began to speak to the disciples about the proper care and reception of the little ones.  According to my study Bible, these "little ones" to whom Jesus refers include all who have childlike humility and simplicity; that is, all who are poor in spirit.  In today's reading, He speaks of their "angels who always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."  According to St. John Chrysostom, whom my study Bible cites here, not only the saints, but all people have guardian angels.   But the angels of humble people have greater boldness and greater honor before the face of God due to the humility of the person they guard.  It's not the nature of God, but the weakness of human beings, that requires the angels' service.  

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."  Unlike the calculations of earthly shepherds, my study Bible says, Christ sees such value in one sheep that He will leave the others are risk to save it.  The ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who remain faithful to God (Luke 15:7).  According to some patristic commentary, this is also an image of the Incarnation, in which the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven.  Christ descended from heaven to pursue the one lost sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption on earth. 

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector."  Here Jesus lays out a plan for church discipline, which is based on mutual correction in three expanding stages.  Sin and correction are to remain private, my study Bible notes, unless the offender refuses to repent.  It says that all correction must be done with great care and humility, with the highest concern being the salvation of the offender (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 6:1).  Nonetheless, correction must take place so that the sin does not spread to others as well.  

"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  My study Bible comments that the authority to bind and loose sins is given to the apostles and transmitted to the bishops and presbyters they ordained.  This authority, it adds, is given for the sake of the salvation of the sinner.  Quoting St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes that the sinner, "seeing that he is not only cast out of the Church, but that the bond of his sin will remain in Heaven, he may turn and become gentle."

Once again (as in yesterday's reading and commentary) we must note how carefully Jesus prepares the disciples for the future of His Church, the body of Christ, and especially the attention that must be paid to the proper care of the "little ones," all those who will come into the Church in faith, seeking to be part of the communion with Christ.  Scandalizing behavior, "offenses" that harm this relationship and communion with the little ones -- particularly those who come in all humility -- is the last thing Christ wants the leadership of His Church to embody.  In fact, in yesterday's reading (see above), He promised woe to anyone by whom such offenses come.  This discussion is clearly meant to set the tone for the whole of the Church to come, and the care and concern for the little ones, including personal self-discipline and a willingness to cast aside our own bad habits and impulses in order to do so, is Christ's definition of what it is to be "great" and the "greatest" in His Church.  Let us consider a moment the three-stage correction model that He offers to them.  It protects the privacy of the person accused of the offense, the one who has sinned against another.  The second stage, which expands the circle of those aware of the problem, still limits the exposure of the person about whom there is a complaint.  It's only after these attempts to reconcile and bring the person to an awareness of problematic behavior that it becomes a more public problem and expanded to the wider Church.  Moreover, let us consider what this means in the context of "Church."  The definition of Church according to my study Bible comes from the Greek word ἐκκλησία/ekklesia which is used here in the text, and means the "called out" or "assembly."  My study Bible notes that in this understanding the faithful are called out of the world to be the Church, which is the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the New Israel, the ark of Salvation, the assembly of believers.  Through the Church, it says, Christians are united to Christ and to each other.  In this community, the believer receives the grace of God through the sacraments and hears the truth of the gospel.  So therefore, this mystical transformation of people into one body in Christ takes place in the Eucharist; as Christ is the head of the Church, the Church is thereby a reflection of Christ's Incarnation, with body human and divine qualities.  In this understanding of what "Church" is and means, then, let us consider Christ's admonition for mutual correction.  Offenses are those things which disrupt this process of transformation into communion as the body of Christ; they tear relationships apart through abuse of various kinds, and destroy the very reality of what it means to take the Eucharist, to participate in Christ's sacrifice.  Therefore it is up to all of us to not only take our own behavior most seriously in this context of the "little ones" and how they are received by all, but especially Christ's teachings about self-correction (see yesterday's reading and His analogy of amputation of a diseased body part regarding our own sinful behaviors and habits), and mutual correction in today's reading.  If indeed the Church is meant to be a reflection of Christ's Incarnation, then imagine how much more seriously we must take His words when it comes to jockeying for position, for gossip and bad behaviors that break good faith in the Church, for exploitation or abuse of power and manipulation within the Church.  The Church is a holy institution and not merely a fiscal or community of neighbors or social institution or even a political one, as seems to become so often the case, something with which we are all too familiar.  If we were to remember that the Church itself is meant to be a place of healing -- including correction of sinful or abusive behaviors to ourselves or to others -- then we will orient ourselves correctly to its purpose and calling.  Let us remember that as a place of prayer and worship we are witnesses not to one another but to God and to the purpose of Christ's Incarnation itself, for if we fail that purpose then we fail Him.  As He reminds us today, He is there in the midst of us.  Throughout the readings of yesterday and today, Christ's great concern is with the little ones; so much so, that yesterday we read His teaching that to receive one of the little ones is to receive Him:  "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  Today He tells us most solemnly a key purpose of the Church:  "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."   Let us understand that we all are to work together for salvation, and what commitment that takes to His teaching here.  And always, there is the overriding concern for Christ's mission:  "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."

 

 

 

Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost

 

 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." 

 

- Luke 19:1–10 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus 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.

 

 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.   As we remarked in yesterday's reading and commentary, Jericho was associated with sin.  My study Bible comments that it was notorious as a place of iniquity and is commonly associated with sinful living (see Luke 10:30, from the parable of the Good Samaritan).

 

 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  See Luke 18:24-27, in which Jesus commented that "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."  (The story of the rich young ruler is found in this reading, from Saturday.)  Of course, most noteworthy here is that Zacchaeus is not just a tax collector, all of whom were commonly supposed to extort the people using their status as servants of Rome, but he is a chief tax collector, who has grown rich.  My study Bible comments that this encounter between Christ and Zacchaeus demonstrates that grace can accomplish that which is impossible to man.

And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  My study Bible comments that many spiritual interpretations express the universal significance of this encounter.  Theophylact, it says, see the crowd symbolizing sins:  "Crowded in by a multitude of passions, and worldly affairs, [Zacchaeus] is not able to see Jesus."  My study Bible also reports comments from St. Ambrose, who notes several symbolic parallels.  First, that Zacchaeus being short is indicative of his being short on faith and virtue.  Second, Zachaeus must ascend a tree, which shows that one who is attached to earthly matters cannot see Jesus.  Finally, the Lord intending to pass that way is a revelation that Christ will approach anyone willing to repent and believe.  

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."  My study Bible asks us to take note that Zacchaeus uses the term give for his free and generous offering to the poor, and restore for what he owes to those he had cheated -- as the latter was not a gift, but rather required by the Law (Exodus 22:1).  By doing both, it notes, Zacchaeus therefore not only fulfills the Law, but also shows his love of the gospel.  

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  My study Bible comments that the title Jesus uses, son of Abraham, is an indication that Zacchaeus had become like this patriarch of Israel:  he was counted righteous by his faith, he became generous toward the poor, and he was united to the people of God.  Early records show that Zacchaeus went on to be a bishop of the Church. 

Jesus says that He has come has come to seek and to save that which was lost.  What does it mean to be lost?  How was Zacchaeus lost?  One way of being lost is to be outside of community.  This indicates to us that we need to consider what it means to be a part of community.  This notion is central to the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments.  In John 14:2, Jesus says, "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you."  It's not easily understood from this English translation of "mansion," but what Jesus is alluding to is the ancient system of tents or tabernacles, belonging to extended family.  When a new member of the family would come in, such as a son marrying, then an extra partition would be made for this new part of the family, this new son and extension, so that all were under one large "tent" but there were rooms made for all under the same patriarch.  This is the intended image here, of an extended tabernacle belong to the Father, and Christ creating family, preparing a place for all those who will live under this one great tent, but with a place for each.  So from this saying, and most definitely from today's reading about Zacchaeus and Christ's interaction, we're to understand that it is God who properly creates families, and that now Zacchaeus is a son of Abraham, and able to dwell within that large tent of the partiarch Abraham, who was justified by faith.  So important is this understanding, that in two Letters of St. Paul, and in the Epistle of St. James, Genesis 15:6 is quoted:  "And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness."  (See Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23.)   Like Abraham, who "entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2), Zacchaeus is called upon to extend hospitality to Christ, and responds with exuberant joy and gratitude. Zacchaeus, this undignified, unaccepted and despised chief tax collector, has become justified by faith, and a son of Abraham as any other.  He has therefore become part of community, part of family, which only God can really create, and as Jesus here declares.  It teaches us a lesson that God has the last word on what constitutes family and community, and within that understanding, community can be made up of the most seemingly unlikely members.  Let us rejoice at the good news that one so excluded from community can become a "son of Abraham" by faith, for the same good news applies to our Churches and the community we find there.  Within the body of faith, one might be astonished at the possibilities of healing to be found in community, even healing for what is broken within the context of an earthly family.  Psalm 27 is a strong psalm of faith, declaring, "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."  Faith and healing come in the context of community, and community is what we find through participation in the life of Christ, and the Kingdom He brings.  Let us remember how to love one another, as He has loved us, that the world may know that we are His (John 13:34-35).  To find such love and community is to be found, for without it we are lost.

 

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  

 

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:1-21 

 

On Saturday, we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And he said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. 

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  John's Gospel makes it clear to us that not all of the Pharisees, and not all the members of the Council (Sanhedrin), were antagonistic to Jesus.  My study Bible says that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God, but his faith was still weak.  As we can read, he was afraid of his peers and therefore came to Jesus by night.  As we will read in future chapters in this Gospel, Nicodemus faith following this conversation with Jesus will grow to the point of defending Christ before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51), and eventually he will make a bold public expression of faith in preparing and entombing the Lord's body (John 19:39-42).  In the Orthodox Church, Nicodemus is commemorated together with the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea.  My study Bible notes that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin, and forced to flee Jerusalem.  

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  In terms of the phrase born again, the word "again" in the Greek (ἄνωθεν/anothen) can also be translated "from above."  My study Bible says that it clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).  This heavenly birth is baptism and our adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7).  My study Bible comments that this new birth is just the beginning of our spiritual life, with the goal being entrance into the kingdom of God.  

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"   In what we will come to see as characteristic of John's Gospel, Nicodemus misunderstands, and so asks this question about a second physical birth.  Misunderstandings occur frequently in John's Gospel (see John 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15), and are ways to help us to grasp the concepts Jesus conveys, often needing to use metaphor.  As my study Bible puts it, these opportunities are used by Jesus to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning. 

 

 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "  Here Jesus "fleshes out," so to speak, the idea of baptism, and our adoption as a child of God (see John 1:13).  My study Bible reminds us that to become a child of God is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  This is a play on words:  the Greek word πνεῦμα/pneuma means both wind and Spirit.  The working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious and unknown to us as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  Likewise, my study Bible says, the Spirit moves where He wills and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas.  

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"  According to St. Chrysostom, earthly things is a reference to grace and baptism which are given to human beings.  These are earthly in this sense; not that they are "unspiritual," but in the sense that they occur on earth, and they are given to creatures.  The heavenly things, my study Bible explains, involve the ungraspable mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father.  They relate to Christ's eternal existence before all time and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  It says that a person must first grasp the ways in which God works among human beings, before one can even begin to understand things that pertain exclusively to God.

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from the deadly bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:4-9).  This miracle-working image, my study Bible tells us, prefigured Christ being lifted up on the Cross.  As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them.  Just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death, it says, becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  To show the reason why the Son must be crucified ("lifted up" -- see above), Jesus declares the great love of God not only for Israel, but for the world.  This single verse, my study Bible says, expresses the whole of the message of John's Gospel, and even of all salvation history.  

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible explains that while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  Therefore we are free to reject the gift of God -- but one is effectively self-condemned by one's own rejection of this light, a preference for spiritual darkness (John 1:4-5).  The word "condemn" here in Greek also means to "judge."

Today's reading is incredibly packed with spiritual concepts to begin to understand.  How does baptism work?  How are we born of both water and the Spirit?  Why must it be this way?  How do we become born again into a spiritual life of adoption as children of God?  Jesus uses the image of being "born again" -- with its context of a word meaning both "again" and "from above," so that we begin to grasp concepts that are truly mysterious in the ways that we can.  He moves forward to explain to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  And moreover, this birth and the workings of the Spirit are as unknown to we human beings and as mysterious as the origin and destination of the wind that blows.  And Jesus moves from this expression of the work of the Spirit among us (that is God the Holy Spirit) to His own identity as Son:  Jesus Christ, the unique Son of Man, is from heaven and has come down from heaven, but to be "lifted up" upon the Cross.  That is, He, heavenly being, Second Person of the Trinity, will be lifted up to an earthly death -- so that as Moses with the image of the serpent defeated the sting of the serpents, Christ will defeat the sting of death (1 Corinthians 15:55).  There is an interesting ancient component to this wisdom, in that the Greek word for "poison" also means "medicine."  In our understanding of the Son of Man who comes from heaven to be lifted up on the Cross, to transfigure and transform human earthly life, so He "remits" the poison and venom of the sting of death through His heavenly power to heal.  That word is φάρμᾰκον/pharmakon, from which is derived a similar word that contains the meaning of scapegoat, once thought as a means of purging society of its ills.  In the raising of Christ on the Cross, all three of these meanings are present in some sense -- but with the additional understanding of the Son of Man who comes from heaven, and has the ultimate power to save and to heal everything.  Even as falsely accused and sentenced -- the One who was sinless -- Christ's more potent power, as the "stronger man" (see Luke 11:20-23), works to reconcile and heal all to itself, turning an instrument of cruelty into one of salvation for the whole world.  And this love of God is so all-encompassing and powerful, so absolute over all, that it saves not just the world as we know it, but the entire κόσμος/cosmos (which is the word translated as "world").  That is, the whole universe, the entire created order.  The fullness of this mystery is, once again, beyond what we from an earthly perspective can understand and belongs to God, but God's love we can understand, and we can return in faith, in trust -- in the love we return to God.  If we want to understand, in broad strokes, the character of God and of the light, it is to love (1 John 4:8); while the darkness is cruel and malicious (as seen in demonic behavior in the Gospels).  This is the fullness of the light we're asked to embrace and invited to participate in, by grace in turn illuminating us and filling us with that light.

 

 

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit

 

 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which he did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

 

- John 2:23-3:15 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said to this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which he did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.  This was the first of three Passover feasts reported by John's Gospel, between the Lord's Baptism and Passion.  See also John 6:4, 11:55.  This is how we understand Jesus' ministry on earth to have lasted three years.  John gives us yet another divine characteristic of Jesus here, that "He knew what was in man."  Elsewhere the disciples pray to the Lord as the One who knows the heart (see Acts 1:24, 15:8).  There is a special single word in Greek used in these two example from Acts of the Apostles, that literally means "heart-knower," kardiognostes/καρδιογνώστης.

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."   My study bible points out that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God.  But his faith is still weak at this point, as he is afraid of his peers and thus came to Jesus by night.   After this conversation, Nicodemus's faith would grow to the point of defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51), and eventually making the very bold public expression of faith of preparing and entombing Christ's body (John 19:39-42).  Traditionally in the Church Nicodemus is a saint and celebrated together with the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea, all of whom were involved in the preparation and laying to rest of Christ's body in a special tomb, a brave public act after the Crucifixion.  According to some early sources, my study bible tells us, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  To be born again has a specific nuance in the Greek.  Here, the word for "again" can also be translated "from above."   According to my study bible, it clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).  This heavenly birth, it says, is baptism (to which Jesus refers in today's reading in verse 5, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit") and our adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7).  The new birth is simply the beginning of our spiritual life; its goal is the entrance into the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"   This is a misunderstanding on the part of Nicodemus, and it tells us something important about the language that Jesus uses.  We're supposed to understand His figurative language as just that; it is language that opens up understand when we open up our own capacities to perceive what He's saying.  My study bible points out that misunderstandings occur frequently in John's Gospel (see John 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15).  It says that Christ uses these opportunities to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning.  It is a deep clue to the powerful use of language by Jesus in John's Gospel, and the enduring images that help us to understand and deepen our faith.

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  This is a direct reference to Christian baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit given at chrismation ("born of water and the Spirit").

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."   Adoption as a child of God via Christian baptism is not a matter of ethnic descent as in the Old Testament, nor by natural birth, nor simply by choice on our part (see John 1:13).  To become a child of God, my study bible says, is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit.  This is accomplished and manifest through the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Here is a play on words in the Greek, as the word for wind and the word for Spirit are the same (pneuma/πνευμα).   This word is also related to "breath."  My study bible comments that the working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  Just the same, the Spirit moves where the Spirit wills (that is, God the Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Holy Trinity), and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas.

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"   St. John Chrysostom comments here that earthly things is a reference to grace and baptism which are given to human beings.  These are earthly, not in the sense of being "unspiritual" but rather in the sense that they occur on earth and are given to creatures.  The heavenly things are the ungraspable mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father.   They relate to God's existence before all time, and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  My study bible says that a person must first grasp the ways in which God works among human beings before one can even begin to understand things that pertain to God as divine Person.

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from deadly bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:4-9).  This was a miracle-working image (mirroring the image of the snakes) which prefigured Christ being lifted up on the Cross, who thereby conquered death.   As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them, my study bible says.  Just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself. 

If we think we see a strange mirroring at times in the Gospels, we need to look beyond the mirror to understand the divine reality that is at work in the Incarnation.  The power in this mirror is divine power.  That is, Christ was God Incarnate in the image of a human being, for the precise purpose that to enter into our earthly lives was to heal through that divine power.   Christ is a "mirror image" of us, but with an essential twist that changes the entire story of our lives.  He enters into our life as one of us to heal, to transcend, to transform, and to take us with Him on that journey.  It is the same with the image of the snake which was given to Moses by God, so that Israel could be saved from the poisonous bites of the serpents.  It is a "mirror image," but with a twist.  It came about through the divine help and instruction of God, so that it would intervene in the earthly affairs of the people, and heal and transform through their faith.  It's important that Christ stresses the act of "lifting up" because that is another mirror image, so to speak, given to us in the text.  The people had to look up to focus on the image of the serpent which Moses was taught to make, and we must also look up to behold Christ on the Cross, so that His ignominious and torturous death would transform and defeat death by Christ's divine presence dwelling as one of us and experiencing this earthly life right down and through the worst of it.  But there's another mirror image at work in the words "born again," as those words mean, in the Greek, to be born "from above."  So Holy Baptism is a form of being lifted up for our birth, looking up to heaven in order to be reborn, a mingling of the divine and earthly at work.  The key in the mirror image is precisely that it includes the divine in deep and full participation in our earthly life that transforms and heals, gives us cause to "look up" and be lifted up with Christ in virtually everything we might experience in our lives.  To be reborn in Spirit, and to experience the historical sacraments of the Church, is to experience the elements of earthly life in which the divine also comes to participate  -- to dwell in and thereby to transform and uplift us with it.  When Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about "earthly things" He speaks of an earthly life offered to us, in which the divine comes to participate with us and for us.  When we think of the spiritual -- in the context of Christian faith -- it must be with a sense of unification, of enlivening the body and the earthly, and not a separation.  Christ came into the world to unify us to Him, and everything in our faith is about deepening that communion and healing the split between Creator and creature.  Let us remember that in the Christian life, a mirror exists to heal and transform via participation of the divine which transfigures everything in which it may come to rest; in Christ's image He gives in today's reading, it's like the wind blowing where it wishes.   We join to that vivifying breath of Spirit through our faith and sacraments, as we invite the divine into our lives through prayer. 

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents

 

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  So he spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

 

- Luke 15:1–10 

 

Yesterday we read that at this point in Christ's ministry, great multitudes went with Him.  And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- least, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.  Salt is good; but if the sale has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  Regarding today's entire reading (and two more verses that follow), my study bible comments that fellowship with sinners defiled pious Jews.  Christ begins three parables which will follow in this chapter, which are His answer to the Pharisees and scribes.  The protagonists in each of those parables (the man, the woman, and the father in verses 4-32 represent Christ, the Church, and God the Father.   There is a quotation here by St. Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ carries the sinner, the Church seeks and intercedes, and the Father receives."

So he spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."   The Patristic spiritual interpretation of this parable tells us that the hundred sheep represent all rational creation.  The one sheep who goes astray is a symbol of humankind.  The ninety-nine, a powerful number, represent the angelic realm.  Christ descended from the spiritual realm to find the one sheep, humankind, and to save us.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  My study bible tells us that ten silver coins comprise a single necklace worn by a married woman, a bride, and this is an image of the Church (Ephesians 5:32).   The lost coin (in the original Greek, a drachma), carried an image of the king.  This image of the king symbolizes humankind, who, although bearing the image of Christ, fell from grace.  Through the Church, Christ enlightens the world, sweeps away sin, and finds God's lost creation.  

In tomorrow's reading Jesus will give us the famous parable, which appears only in Luke, of the Prodigal Son.  This will complete the trilogy of parables Jesus gives to teach us about God's efforts to save even one sinner, so that each one may find reunion with God's love.  But let us examine today's parables, and see what Christ is saying to us.  The stray sheep for which the shepherd leaves the other ninety-nine and goes in search to save it distinctly puts us in mind of the story of the demoniac named Legion.  (See this reading for his story.)   In that passage, we read that Jesus made the disciples set sail through a terrible storm on the Sea of Galilee, to come to a deserted place in which there was a man who lived only among the tombs, and was not in his right mind.  He was inhabited by a legion of demons, and lived among those who did not care about his healing at all, but in the unfolding of the story it was understand that he deeply desired the healing of Christ, and was so grateful he wanted to come with Jesus and the disciples back with them.  But he was sent out by Christ to be a kind of early evangelist to his own community about the great things God had done for him.  In that story, Jesus set sail through treacherous dangers seemingly just to find and heal that one man.  And so, this story of the ninety-nine sheep left behind (and for an every day shepherd, left to danger!) to pursue the one that was lost, illustrates this same point.  God is not an "every day" shepherd, but a divine Shepherd, and so we have an illustration of the power of love through which God will act to save even one of us for whom God has hope of restoration of communion and loving relationship.  What we should come to understand is that God's "efforts" at love are not our human efforts, and exceed extraordinarily beyond the level of passion we are capable of understanding about love on human terms.  God does not weigh or measure effort for us, but rather will seek by any extraordinary means, especially those of which we cannot even conceive, to retrieve us and save us and return us to God's love and communion.  This is what we must take that is expressed in these stories.  Who cannot relate to seeking that one object that completes a set when it goes missing, and making all kinds of effort -- that seemingly outweigh the value of the lost object -- in order to retrieve it?  This nature we share with our Lord, that love seeks out its own that has been lost, and will make great effort to find it.  If we are to take these parables in context of one another, we can understand that God has "efforts" to make that are possible to God, which go way beyond what is possible for us.  If you or I would go as far as the women to sweep up the floor and look everywhere to find a lost coin to a set, think of the efforts God can put out -- especially through God's invisible forces of angels -- for one of us who might be brought back into this communion of love.  Let us understand, then, from Christ's parables the extraordinary possibilities in God's love for us, and the incalculable efforts made for each one as we all upon God.  There are all sorts of efforts, possibilities, and powers we don't know, can't see, and cannot estimate at work in God's love for us.  Call on God in prayer, and ask for God's help in restoration of that love and care at all times, and through all circumstances.  God's efforts and God's love are far greater than we can calculate, beyond the scope of our understanding of love, and in power unyielding to any limitations.

Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men

 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His coming."

- Matthew 16:21-28

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  For the first time, and directly after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ (spoken for all of the disciples), Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship.  He introduces them to the mystery of His Passion.  My study bible informs us that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was impossibly perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter, in effect, has unwittingly spoken for Satan, as the devil did not want Jesus to fulfill His mission and save humankind through suffering and death.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  The cross was a fearsome instrument of Roman punishment, designed to create the worst kind of suffering until death.  But it is also a symbol -- transfigured by Christ -- of suffering by Christians in imitation of Him.  My study bible says that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering, it says, is not a punishment.  Neither is it an end in itself.  Rather it is a means whereby a fallen world is overcome for the sake of the kingdom of God, and to crucify passions and desires which would separate us from God in the light of faith (Galatians 5:24).

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  This central Christian message is the paradox of how to live.  My study bible comments that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal.  But in sacrificing everything in this world in faith to God, and God's purposes for us, we gain eternal riches which are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9).  This can be experienced on the deepest personal level of identity and meaning.

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  My study bible says that this question emphasizes the utter foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power -- as none of this can redeem a person's "fallen" soul or benefit a person in the life to come.

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."  In introducing the cross and His suffering, Jesus also reminds us of judgment and of justice -- the full impact of how we choose to live, and what it is we choose to live for.

"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His coming."   My study bible suggests this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9, coming up in our next reading), as well as those in every generation who will experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

So what would you give for God's kingdom to dwell within you?  How does that match the goals that you have in your life?  Does it fit with what the world offers you as "good" or beneficial to you?  Let us consider the meaning of Jesus' cross in a profound way, as He offers to us His way of life, with its "crucifixion" of our desires and worldly outlook based solely on what is material in our lives.  Once again, I would turn to the maelstrom of currant affairs and politics which seems to dominate our lives and our media screens.  Where I live, protest is ongoing each day, with helicopters overhead for two weeks and more.  The noise itself feels invasive at this point, as there is no chance for me to be uninvolved somehow, no silence when I feel I need it.  The answer for me is in the Cross.  How should I participate?  Should I participate?  Is there an alternative or option which Christ would have me choose?  The one way I should find that out is through the Cross, through the crucifixion of flesh and its desires and passions, as my study bible, citing St. Paul, reminds us.  If I cannot retreat enough into the power of prayer to give all of the fuss and the confusing selection and variety of opinions to Christ and the saints, then where is my faith in all of this?  Fortunately, it is the power of prayer and faith in which all things exist and are transformed.  The excitement and agitation of the past few weeks -- and the damage done in my particular neighborhood -- has been stressful and impactful, especially coming on top of a long lockdown for the covid virus in my area, which is ongoing.  Not only that, but the mass protests themselves have raised the specter -- according to the doctors whose opinions are considered to be authoritative -- that the virus statistics will rise once again, and so enforced lockdown will continue.  One of my neighbors with a young baby has already had serious struggles with the tensions of it all, adding tension to where I live.   In the resulting extra stressors, I am compelled to retreat to prayer to address my own responses to those whom I love and whose friendships and acquaintances I cherish, even to those with whom I must engage each day on an impersonal basis.  I have found myself being uncharacteristically angry at some, losing my patience in other circumstances, offended at what I find to be unthinking behavior.  But the one place I can retreat to be "crucified" and have my mind and heart and outlook set right has been through prayer.  I have found it a remarkably potent and powerful antidote to the stress, even changing my mind, soothing my passions and correcting my desires.  In short, Christ's promise that the Cross transforms us and our lives is real and ongoing.  It is -- especially in these circumstances -- an essential part of life.  To be crucified by such a loving Master is to find out who we are, to be corrected when we need it, and especially to be eased by the One who is gentle and lowly of heart, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light (11:28-30).  It is in this power of the Cross that I have found my way to the person that I need to be, the call to how I can go forward, and especially the light I need to see more clearly -- and that is my testimony.  Won't you meet Christ there as well?  His words are true and good, and it is the work of the "adversary" to suppose they are not meant for good for everyone.

Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

"Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them."

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

- John 12:37-50

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught as He spoke in the temple:  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom here, who says that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  It notes that this is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, revealing that God gives people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  It adds that what is meant by He has blinded is that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but it is rather that Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  Isaiah . . . saw His [Christ's] glory in about 700 BC (Isaiah 6:1) and spoke of Him in many places throughout his lengthy prophecy.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.   These rulers, according to St. Chrysostom, are truly the worst of slaves, because they are enslaved by the opinions of men, rather than honoring the truth they know, which is of God.  It keeps them from leading as God would have them lead.

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  My study bible notes that Christ does not judge with favoritism or partiality.   It adds that He has spoken the words of life, words of love, forgiveness, repentance, virtue, and mercy.   These words of His will be the standard by which all are judged on the last day.

Let us note carefully Christ's connection with the Father.  It is an unconditional connection of power, authority, and truth.  Jesus doesn't even speak about His own authority, except to condition it upon the authority conveyed by the Father -- and most particularly by the words given to Christ from the Father to reveal to human beings.  This is not simply a truth that one would read about in a book, a principle, something learned in a science class.  This truth exists in a spiritual level, and remains true for us on all levels.  Its source is absolute, from the One who is Creator of all things and origin of all things.  It appeals to us, therefore, from levels so deep within each of us that we can't name where they are or why the words appeal to us, or do not.  This is spiritual reality, a depth of reality that goes beyond the "opinions of men."   Jesus taught the disciples earlier, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (6:63).  The words of life have their value, impact, and meaning precisely because they are spirit and they therefore are life.  They come from a place beyond what we know, rooted in our very existence and creation -- before all things were made (Colossians 1:16-17).  Let us consider, then, what judgment means, which is what Christ refers to here.  Judgment comes from our rejection of what is so deep within us that we can't understand nor know its source.  When we choose mammon (materialism) over God, then we reject the words of life and we choose instead only the surface of life.  We ignore our deepest connection to the love that gives us life and plants love in our hearts.  We have this very real choice, this capacity for cutting ourselves off from what is good and true -- that which makes life worth living, gives grace and beauty and love.  Each of us has this capacity.  But it is our choices that render the judgment Christ is speaking about here; it is our rejection of life that terminates our relationship to His words of life.  We can cast these things of great depth and value away for the simplest of reasons:  personal greed, the gratification of following the "opinions of men," or any other sort of worldly vanity or materialist perspective.  But consider what we are throwing away.  This is what Christ tells us, and if we are in such a place then we are surely blind and walking the wrong way.  Let us consider His words and what makes life most precious, without which we lose even what we have.