The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few

 

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  

 

- Matthew 9:35—10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

 

  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."   This phrase, like sheep having no shepherd, is similar to the language in Mark 6:34, which we read as a description of the crowd of 5,000 which Jesus will feed in the wilderness (see Mark 6:30-44).  Here the words weary and scattered describe the crowd, meaning that they were like those cast aside from the world, exhausted in their struggles.  In a sense, it's a description of those who are figuratively "homeless" -- like sheep having no shepherd, who need His good guidance and love, His compassion.  In yesterday's commentary, we remarked upon Christ's gathering of the outcast, the poor in spirit, the outliers in some sense.  Here the description of these people exemplifies those to whom He has come to extend His care, His church.  His comment,  "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" teaches us that this is indeed how He views these multitudes.

 

 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed them by His own power.  It notes that he names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, because many people had more than one name.  Here the names are given in pairs, which suggests who might have traveled together on their "first missionary journey," as St. Mark tells us that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

 

It's very interesting to note how Jesus fulfills the needs He encounters in the people, as He goes out preaching, teaching and healing.  At this point in His ministry, He's encountering multitudes who are like sheep without a shepherd, weary and scattered.  As commented above, this description gives us a sense of people who are beleaguered by life, in some sense cast off by the society that does not feed them what they need.   They need a true leader, someone to guide them, and clearly that Someone is Jesus, who is our true and good Shepherd (see John 10:1-30).  This description of the multitudes sounds like something that many "multitudes" could relate to today in our world.  Wherever we are, it seems that there are a lot of people feeling like they are in need of a shepherd, who may feel cast off and even without a deep sense of community.  Christ responds in a characteristic way, which is not sad nor diminished in optimism, but rather quite the opposite.  He sees these seemingly lost multitudes as a harvest which is plentiful for His future Church, but that there is simply a need of more laborers to gather them.   These are the people He has come to gather to Himself, to guide as Shepherd.  They are the lost sheep who need Him.  And now is the time not simply to minister to them, but to expand His ministry by extending His power to His disciples who will now become apostles.  After calling the Twelve, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. This is what Christ has come to do, and it is an opportunity for the glory of God and the power of Christ to manifest itself and grow within human beings.  These are the ones He has come for, and this is the way that His Church will be built.  Christ at once gives us many things characteristic of Himself and His work:  if something is sad, or weak, or broken, or in need of healing or care in our sight, it is an opportunity for His work, His power, His energy.  If something is cast off, He can gather it to Himself, and the ones who are scattered He can gather into His community.  And He will do this by extending His power through human beings, the faithful disciples.  This is also, if we look closely, the characteristics of the Cross, for in what appears to us sad or broken or needful, and invites despair, there is God who can work even through all things.  Just as St. Paul was told that God's strength was made perfect in his weakness (1 Corinthians 12:9), so grace works through the things that look "less than" to us, and Christ's greatest power continues to work through the Cross, even defeating death.  Let us look to that grace for all the surprising, uplifting, and beautiful things it can bring into our lives as well.  For we may all be laborers in whatever ways we are called.  

 

 

He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses

 

 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  

Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  

 

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"He Himself took our infirmities

And bore our sicknesses."

- Matthew 8:5–17 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read that when Jesus had ended the Sermon on the Mount (His "sayings"), the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, who yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

 

 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."   In the context of today's reading, it is important to understand that this is a man with worldly authority.  If we look at the reading from yesterday, we understand that St. Matthew has emphasized Jesus' teaching as one having authority, which astonished the people.  My study Bible explains that a centurion (a Gentile) commanded 100 men in a Roman legion.  It says that Christ is the Savior of all, and in Him all ethnic distinctions are void.

 

 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  My study Bible points out that I will come has been read by many Greek scholars to be a question:  "Shall I come?  Nonetheless, Jesus is ready to deal gracious with this Gentile, even to enter His house.  My study Bible says that to do so would make Him unclean in the eyes of the Jews.  Again, this is pertinent to the reading from yesterday, in which Jesus touched a leper in order to heal him -- touching the unclean was prohibited.

The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  My study Bible comments that this centurion is expressing unusual faith, as he calls Jesus, who is a Jew, Lord.  His statement, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof," is often quoted in liturgical texts as an ideal expression of humility.  

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"  There are two places in the Gospels where it is said about Jesus that He marveled.   Once is at the unbelief He finds in His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and here at the belief of this foreigner.  

"And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.   My study Bible notes that here Jesus nullifies any ideas of ethnic superiority.  Those rejected sons of the kingdom He refers to here are both the Jews who deny Christ, and also those raised in the Church who do not live their faith.  Outer darkness and weeping and gnashing, it explains, are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol (Hades) in the Jewish tradition (see, for example, Enoch 108).   These are common expressions in St. Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51, 25:30), and appear also in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 13:28).  

 

 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities / And bore our sicknesses."  In this passage and in 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Peter is called Cephas) tell us that St. Peter was married.  My study Bible comments that our Lord's healing miracles are diverse.  Here, He heals by touch, where in healing the centurion's servant, He healed by a word.  This healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law  is immediate and complete, whereas others are gradual (Mark 8:22-24, or they need the cooperation of the person healed or of that person's loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  St. Matthew quotes from Isaiah 53:4. 

We must note that, in these first few encounters of Christ just after He completes the Sermon on the Mount, everything is done with the aim of healing.  If Christ speaks with authority, while He possesses no earthly signification of authority (He's not a Levitical priest, and holds no special office nor recognition from the authorities), then that authority is used with a purpose -- and the clear evidence of that, from the two healings done now after completing the Sermon on the Mount, is healing.  Jesus heals.  And I think we can apply this statement, that Jesus heals, to just about everything we know about Christ.  At His Return, we say, will be the final judgment.  But judgment in this case doesn't mean a simple sorting of good and bad, and it doesn't mean only "the end" in the eschatological sense.  It means the healing of all things, putting everything in order, rectifying all and reconciling all.  To heal is to set in good order, to balance all things into the proper balance, to resolve heaven and earth into the place of peace, the New Jerusalem.  All balance and order is restored in Christ and especially in what He does.  Therefore, when we consider His "sayings" in the Sermon on the Mount, and when we think about these individual healings of both the leper and the centurion's servant in the past couple of readings, we should understand that all of these teach us about His effective healing.  His sayings and commands are for our own health and well-being, on every level.  We are given teachings to help us balance and to learn good spiritual healing, which transmits to all other things in life, teaching us what it is to be truly "in order."  He has just given us His commands in the Sermon, but then when He touches the leper, He expresses another aspect of Law, its aim, and the purpose for which He has given us everything -- especially in His role as Lord -- is for healing.  That is, the healing of community, of our world, of our sense of ourselves, of righteousness, all things.  And then we come to the centurion's servant, and the marvelous (literally, for the Lord marveled) understanding and faith of the centurion, who immediately grasps Christ's authority, and receives healing for the one for whom he prayed to the Lord.  Christ heals all the nations and all people, and in this we also find His healing and balance for us.  He is repairing our sense of our world, our sense of ourselves, our understanding of purpose and worship, our understanding of God and where God wants us to go with our lives.  For to understand is also part of faith and healing, for this is the evidence of the centurion's great faith which surpasses even all Israel.  Finally, we also come to the healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law, also found in the gospels of St. Luke and St. Mark.  This woman is unable to fulfill her function, which is her place of honor, in the house, because of fever.  But at Christ's touch, she rises, restored and once again set into order, so that she may fulfill her honor to serve the Lord and His ministry as the senior woman in her home.  If we fail to understand this, it is likely because more modern concerns about the place of women keep us from doing so.  Let us ask always for Christ's healing, because these stories coming on the heels of His preaching the Sermon on the Mount truly give us the message about His authority and purpose, to heal us.  We should recall here His reason He will give for the preaching of parables:  "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,  lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.' "   Let us note that Jesus here quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, in which it is given that the ultimate goal of understanding with the heart is to be healed.  Ultimately, as we understand Christ, "He Himself took our infirmities / And bore our sicknesses."

 

 

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd

 

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

 

- Matthew 9:35—10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of demons."

 

  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  My study Bible asks us to note that here Jesus doesn't condemn sinners, instead seeing them like lost sheep, to be found and brought home.  Compassion, it notes, means "suffering with."  This quality is characteristic of our Lord.  The illustration of sheep having no shepherd is drawn from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5), and it is an accusation against the Jewish leaders.  For they are charged with the duty of shepherds, and have acted as wolves.  The same would apply to leaders of our time who forget they are shepherds of the Church.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  The harvest, according to my study Bible, suggests an abundance of people who are ready to accept the Kingdom.  Jesus is both the Sower and also the Lord of the harvest.  His disciples are not sent to sow, but to reap what the Lord had sown by the prophets (John 4:36-38).  How many are sent to harvest is less important than with what power they go into the harvest, which we will read about in the following verse, as Christ sends out the apostles.

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Disciple means "learner" (in Greek, μαθητής/mathetes), and apostle means "one sent out" (ἀπόστολος/apostolos).  We note that Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, but He performed them by His own power.  The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists; many people had more than one name.  These names in Matthew are given in pairs.  My study Bible comments that this list suggests who may have traveled together on this "first missionary journey," as Mark tells us they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

The theme of sheep and shepherds runs through the Bible.  Jesus, of course, is the good shepherd:  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).  Here in today's reading, He expresses His role as the Good Shepherd in His compassion and concern for those who are like sheep. He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  The people aren't just like sheep, they are "like sheep having no shepherd."  They are weary and scattered, and they need a Good Shepherd who can unify them and give them strength.  This is part of the role of our Good Shepherd.  It's a good clue about what constitutes real leadership that the text offers to us this insight regarding Jesus' understanding of this need of the people, and His own capacity to fill it.  What do we want from a good leader?  What inspires us to follow a good leader?  Jesus often gives courage to His followers, telling the disciples to take heart at times of fear.  He inspires with His willingness to give of Himself first.  Everything He does is for His sheep.  And He gives direction, teaching us how to live, how to go forward in life, how we must shape our lives.  He responds with teaching for those who are like sheep with no shepherd (Mark 6:34).   Christ's next action that exemplifies leadership is to take charge and send out His messengers of the Kingdom.  In tomorrow's reading we'll find His instructions for the mission.  But let us note that on this first apostolic mission He prepares them for it by giving them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  This is a power that works for the kingdom of God, and against the unclean spirits, the ones who create ailments, problems, and troubles for human beings, the forces opposed to Christ.  Like a good leader, Christ chooses those whom He will send out, His soldiers, His representatives, those whom He has trained to be like Him, and entrusted with mission to the sheep.

 

 

This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it

 

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  

 

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." 

 

- John 11:1-16 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has continued His disputes with the religious authorities in Jerusalem.  Chapters 7 through 10 were taken up mostly with events which took place at the autumn Feast of Tabernacles, but now the Gospel has moved to winter and the Feast of Dedication (or Hanukkah).  We are being taken through the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders with whom He disputed took up stones again to stone Him,  after He told them, "I and the Father are one" (see Monday's reading).  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there. 

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."   Today we begin chapter 11, in which the seventh of the seven signs in John's Gospel will take place, the raising of Lazarus.  It is the final year of Christ's earthly life, and the effects of this great sign will be profound indeed, including the response by the religious authorities.  Bethany, my study Bible says, is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Here, Christ sends back to Mary and Martha a message to strengthen them, so that when Lazarus dies, they will take confidence in Christ's words.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar," which means "God helps."  My study Bible explains that the Son of God being glorified must not be understood to be the cause of Lazarus' death.  Instead, it indicates that Christ will be glorified as a result of Lazarus' death (occurring from natural illness) and his being raised from the dead.  Note the similarity between Christ's response to His disciples' question about the man born blind from birth ("Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" - see Thursday's reading) and His response to Martha and Mary regarding Lazarus' illness.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." My study Bible explains that Christ delays in order for Lazarus to be dead long enough for the corruption of his body to set in (see verse 39).  In this way, no one could doubt the miracle, and the might of the Lord would be clearly seen by all.  

The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Jesus again iterates that He is the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5).  The disciples protest because of events which took place at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), which we read in yesterday's reading (see above). 

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Compare Christ's use of the word sleeps here to Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.  

Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  My study Bible calls Thomas' statement an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It also illustrates the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24, 1 Corinthians 15:31).  

In today's reading, Jesus states that the "sickness of Lazarus is not unto death, but rather for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  What is nominally a human tragedy becomes an occasion for the glory of God -- and that the Son of God may be glorified through it.  If we consider the events that will come as a result of the raising of Lazarus, we understand a deeper and more profound meaning to the term "glorified" for Christ, the Son of God.  The death of Lazarus will be the occasion that spurs on the religious leaders to put Christ to death, sending Him to His Passion and the Cross, the hour of glorification.  This occasion reminds us that what seems like a terrible tragedy by human standards may be the occasion for the glory of God -- and possibly more, an occasion for us to rise to God's vision for us and for our own lives.  It makes for a kind of exchange:  our visions and hopes in exchange for a life that God may have in mind for us, for a kind of glory that we can't get from our limited perspective or what a more earthly idea will build for us.  God's "long game" has different goal posts, different rules than our conventional lives and goals might encompass.  Who could imagine that the Cross -- the worst instrument of Roman punishment -- would come to symbolize the glory of God and the power to transform and transfigure even the worst event of human life, and power over life, death, and Resurrection?  It is the defeat of the final enemy, death -- and the power of evil in opposition to God.  So Jesus begins this journey with the illness of Lazarus and the seventh sign to come in the Gospel, the one that will lead the religious leaders to decide once and for all they must rid themselves of Him.  Let us consider Jesus' words when we are in the middle of our own crises, our own tragedies.  Is there occasion for the glory of God where you are?  Or for the glorification of the Son of God?  At the worst of times, we have occasion for prayer, for calling upon the most powerful force that transcends all things, to give us His light and show us a path we might not expect.  We may be asked to give up something precious to us, but what we seek is something deeper and greater and which pervades everything.  We just might wake up to something that is greater than our own preferences, better than our own ideas for the way things "should" be.  

Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 

 

- Matthew 4:18-25 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: / The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned."  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  These first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist and were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:19-42).  although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, my study Bible says, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.  

 

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. My study Bible remarks that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (see 4:17, from yesterday's reading, above), but only when He begins to heal and work miracles.  This fact, it says, shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of Christ's Kingdom.  It also shows Christ's concession, as Theophan puts it, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle multitudes.  

What is the power of the presence of God, of God being extraordinarily near -- of God manifest as one of us?  How can we put limits on it, or know precisely its nature?  Jesus is Son of God and also Son of Man, both human and divine.  These signs of healing are signs of the power of the Logos, God who brings order out of chaos and who is always making all things new (Revelation 21:5).  These are signs of the presence and the power of God, these healings which include the casting out of demons, and the healing of various difficult and serious diseases such as episepsy and paralysis.  It's almost as if Jesus can't help it, that the people who come near Him receive the influence of this holy power that is within Him and comes from Him.  We read this quite clearly in the story of the woman with the blood flow (Matthew 9:20-22), in which Jesus is seemingly startled in the midst of a jostling crowd because He feels power going out from Himself; it is the response of this holy power to the faith of the woman who touched Him, desiring healing.  In a sense, the holy power of Christ and how it works in the world provides to us a contrast to the chaos of things we might consider to be the effects of evil, the influence of demons, and ailments and illnesses that afflict humankind in our mortality, also understood in the context of the Bible to be the result of distance from God (Genesis 3, esp. verses 23, 24).  In a very imperfect world beset with ailments and grief, influences of evil and distance from God, Jesus comes among the crowds and heals.  The influence is clearly immediate, as we can see from the swift change as reported in Matthew's Gospel from which Jesus begins to call His first disciples and seemingly extremely quickly is known for His ministry to multitudes from all over Israel who come to Him:  from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  Perhaps this seemingly swift response is also a factor that involves the mysterious power of God that not only heals but also communicates to us in ways we do not know nor understand.  Note that my study Bible comments that the people respond to healing right away, and seek Him out, but that this response does not come from His first word of preaching, to repent.  And almost as quickly, Jesus will also be making enemies of those who resent Him, who question His power and authority, and envy His place.  So when we look at our world, and we observe Jesus in His ministry in the world, we should not be confused by the fact that we live in an imperfect world, created by God but also with influences that are "against God."  The illustration of our faith is not one in which our lives will fall into place perfectly -- in which people will automatically adore us for our good devotions to our faith -- but rather one in which there will also be difficulties and upsets, stumbling and hurdles put in our way, even at times because we love God.  All of this is put before us in the Gospels, but one thing we know remains true:  it is Christ's influence that helps to put us in order, to get a grip on our lives and discipline over ourselves, God's power that can be at work in our lives through our prayers and through worship to become fruit of the Spirit in us (such as "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control," according to St. Paul), and which we share with others.  God's work in the world has most of all the hallmark of love, and of compassion, and in His strength and power, and through participation in His life, we may also grow in this image that we are given.  Through His power and that of the Spirit, we grow in the ways God holds for us, and we are also led to repent in the ways God holds for us, to cast off that which keeps us from becoming and manifesting the things He calls us toward, changing our lives and setting us on a deep path to His holy work and through our faith.  God's way is surprising, and not easy or simple, but it is always good and good for us, even when we must turn away from things we thought we loved.  Let us remember the power of His healing and how deeply that goes into our lives, even into who we think we are.

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him

 

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  

 

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

- John 11:1-27 

 

As we begun yesterday's reading, the topic was still the events which took place at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21).  As a result of Jesus' responses to their questions, we read, there was a division again among the religious leaders because of His sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.   And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there. 

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."   Today we begin reading in John chapter 11, in which occurs the seventh sign of seven in John's Gospel.  That is, the raising or resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' most astonishing sign.  It is the sign which will seal the decision of the Jewish authorities to put Jesus to death.  This event is usually celebrated on the Saturday before Palm Sunday (for most Churches, especially in the West, this day is tomorrow).  Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar," which literally means "God helps." 

 

When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."   My study bible comments that this message is sent back to Mary and Martha to strengthen them so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in Christ's words.  The Son of God being glorified must not be understood to be the cause of the death of Lazarus.  Rather, this indicates that Christ will be glorified as a result of Lazarus' death (which happened because of natural illness) and Lazarus' being raised from the dead.  Let us understand clearly the parallel with Jesus' sixth sign, which was performed at the Feast of Tabernacles, when He healed a man blind from birth.  On that occasion, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?   Jesus' response was to declare, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Jesus' response to Mary and Martha shows a similar understanding in an occasion of great sorrow or loss.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Another paradox:  Jesus delays going to Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in order to assure that Lazarus is dead long enough that the corruption of his body could set in.  This will assure that no one can doubt the miracle -- and the might of God would clearly be seen by all.  The disciples warn of yet another clear danger; the religious leaders have already sought to stone Him, and the town of Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters live is much closer to Jerusalem.  Indeed, there will be those there from Jerusalem who will witness the raising of Lazarus.  But Christ again refers to Himself as the light of this world.  He knows where He is going and why.

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  Compare Christ's use of "sleeps" here to Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.   My study bible calls Thomas' statement an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It notes that this is also an illustration of the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24).  

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.   My study bible comments that there existed at that time a rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days.  But after four days, resuscitation would be impossible.  This is another affirmation of the power of the sign which Jesus will do.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  As the disciples fears noted, the proximity of Bethany to Jerusalem means that many of those in the religious leadership have joined Martha and Mary in their mourning.  My study bible notes that mourning began on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing would last three days; lamentation would last one week; and general mourning lasted thirty days.

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."   As in the episode in Luke 10:38-42, the two sisters Martha and Mary react differently to Christ's arrival.  Martha is the one who is inclined to active service, and she rushes out to meet Jesus.  But Mary remains in mourning until she is called by Christ.  Sitting, my study bible explains, was the traditional posture when mourning and receiving other mourners (Job 2:8-13, Ezekiel 8:14).   Here, Martha expresses her faith but also indicates a lack of understanding about Christ.  When she says, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died," she shows that she does not fully see that Christ is God, as this indicates she believes He needed to be present in order to heal (contrast this to John 4:46-54).   When she says, "whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she shows that she lacks understanding that Christ possesses full divine authority to act as He wills.  

Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."   Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life."  This is in order to correct Martha's misunderstanding.  My study bible suggests that He declares His divine authority to raise the dead at the last day, as well as here in this world.  The power of Christ's words is such that Martha is led immediately to her great confession of faith.   My study bible says that Do you believe this? is a question which is directed not just to Martha, but toward all of us.

It's interesting that in this section leading to the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' seventh and final sign given during His ministry in John's Gospel, there are several points that seem to be revisited here that have come up earlier in the Gospel with regard to Christ's power.   Once again, the paradoxical understanding of people meets the meanings which Jesus attempts to give to the world, and in particular, to enlighten people regarding Himself.  There is the perplexed use of "sleep" by Thomas, as well as Thomas' inadvertent prophecy of his own martyrdom.  After the Resurrection of Christ, to sleep takes on new meanings for Christians, in expectation of the general Resurrection and particularly within the understanding of the defeat of death by Christ.  Martha indicates that she believes her brother would not have died if Christ had been there, but already we have learned through the second sign given in the Gospel, the healing of the nobleman's son, that Jesus need not be immediately present to effect a healing.  There was also a "preview" of Jesus' knowledge from a distance in the meeting of Nathanael, which prompted an early confession of faith from Nathanael (see this reading).  Moreover, earlier in today's reading and commentary we noted the similar dynamic to the previous extraordinary healing and sign, that of the man blind from birth, in which the disciples express the understanding that someone must have sinned (either "this man" or "his parents") in order for the man to be born blind.  But Jesus responded, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Again, in today's reading, the seeming tragedy of the deadly illness of Lazarus is corrected by Jesus, when He says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  It is a way of teaching us that the mourning of this world might be turned to joy through the power of God in some way in our lives.  This, in itself, is suggestive of the very power of resurrection, of life conquering death.  Finally, Jesus' words in today's reading regarding "the light of this world" reflect and expand upon this saying at the healing of the blind man.  Just after He taught the disciples that the man's blindness was so that the glory of God could be revealed through it, He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."   Here in today's reading, He repeats the emphasis:  "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Jesus is the light, and this is because of His depth of unity with the Father, through whom His steps are guided.  He knows where He is going, even into the danger of the outrage and fear of the religious leaders, who will not be able to withstand the effects of Jesus' seventh sign in the Gospel.  They will most assuredly choose to put Him to death as a result.  But Jesus walks in the light, even as He proceeds into a gathering darkness.  Finally, in this understanding, we go back to the very beginning of the Gospel, which declares, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  All of these things are reinforced for us, as they further unfold, so that they can reveal and further illumine the facets of meaning of Christ Himself, and all those things given to us in the Gospel story, in the word.  For we are called upon also to walk in this light, with Christ as our light in the world, even into the very dark corners we may find we inhabit at times.  Christ walks toward danger because He knows where He is going.  This is not an adventure of the sort you might read about in a comic book or even in a heroic epic mythology.  This is a spiritual journey into which Christ is sent, and sent by the Father, in order to bring the light to the darkness, although, as the Gospel teaches, the darkness did not comprehend it.  If we follow in His footsteps, we may find that we are not meant to convince all that is "dark" of the truth of this light, for even the very educated and enlightened religious leaders of Israel were capable of choosing blindness to Christ (while there were many who did not).  No, we may find that we are called to shine that light even where the darkness will not comprehend, but in faith and in accord with the purposes of the light which leads us through prayer and worship.  This seems a paradox to a materialistic mind, but we shouldn't forget all the facets of the truth of Christ's healing which are revealed to us:  He defies all material reality.  He needn't be present physically for a healing to happen.  And for the things we know of God, even time does not stop the presence of God, although we are also bound by time in this world.  So let us understand that to bear the light is not necessarily to solve every problem and correct every ailment or darkness.  Neither will we necessarily change the minds of those who would deliberately choose blindness, darkness.  But we shine the light we are given in order to glorify God, just as did Christ, and the rest is really not up to us.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).  Like Christ we are to be salt, to retain our "flavor" in faith to Him and the commandments we're given, even to the sacrifices we might be called to make.  But we shine the light He gives so that our Father may be glorified, even as Christ does.  We have confidence that this is so, even when, like Christ, we do not necessarily receive the "praise of men" for doing so, or when the darkness does not comprehend it.

 

 

Go your way; your son lives

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus can come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"
Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43-54

On Saturday, we read that as Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see the readings from Thursday and Friday), His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urge Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.   The text tells us that Jesus had spent two days with the Samaritans from the town near Jacob's well, among whom He found "the fields white for harvest," that is, many believers.   To spend so much time among Samaritans is, again, something shocking for a Jewish man of His time and place, but among these people He found great faith, and those who sought Him out.  All four Gospels record Jesus' saying that "a prophet has no honor in his own country," and of this we must make note (see also this saying in Matthew, Mark, and Luke).  Here, it is in part an additional explanation for spending His time with the Samaritan believers.  Earlier, we were told that many "believed in His name" at the festival in Jerusalem, having seen the signs He did, but that Jesus did not commit Himself to any of them; that is, because He knew what was in the hearts of men, He did not entrust Himself to them (John 2:23-25).    This is contrasted with the faith He found in the Samaritans at Jacob's well.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus can come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  Again we are given to understand that faith that relies on signs and wonders is not the kind of faith that Jesus is looking for; it's not truly complete faith.  Here Jesus is not addressing the nobleman in particular but rather the people (you is plural both times in this verse).   This kind of faith turns to scorn when miracles cease; faith involves trust, love, and devotion.

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.   This man's concern was clearly for his child, for whom (as so many who seek help in the Gospels do) he shows a great love and affection.  But his faith in Christ was weak, not understanding that, as my study bible puts it, "Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance."  Nor does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  Finally, he asks about when the healing took place, still seeking a kind of proof of Jesus' authority.  Only after this confirmation do he and his whole household believe.  My study bible says, "Thus, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not only the body of the child, but the soul of the nobleman."

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.   In this second sign reported in John's Gospel (the first was at the wedding at Cana, turning the water into wine), Jesus heals a nobleman's son.  My study bible invites us to understand that He's already revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (as with Nathanael, see 1:45-48), here Jesus shows that He heals from a distance.  In other words, it is an expression that His divine power knows no earthly limits.

It is interesting to think about the experience of the faith of the nobleman in the story we're given today.  There is a great deal of tension expressed here, although as the Gospel is written quite simply and straightforwardly, it may be difficult for us to discern it.  Think about what it is to have a dying child or one to whom we are deeply attached in such a circumstance.  This is a situation that is dire, perhaps that has come on very swiftly.  Yet Jesus asks a kind of patience, first making the statement, presumably before others as well, that "unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  Perhaps this is a message about the healing, that the faith He seeks is not that which depends upon only such things.  The nobleman then pleas again, more desperately this time for Jesus to come immediately; his child is about to die.  Jesus tells him, "Go your way; your son lives."  But in some sense, the man is still asked for faith.  Jesus doesn't come directly and address and resolve the problem; the nobleman has no way of understanding "factually" whether or not this has happened.  He has only Jesus' word.  He can't see the outcome for himself.  So he's asked to live in faith with some kind of tension, a lack of certainty, or proof.  As he goes, his servants meet him, and tell him that his son lives.  His tension isn't really broken until he asks the servants, seeking to confirm what exactly has happened, the precise time when the child was healed.  (The seventh hour is about one o'clock in the afternoon.)  What we're given in this brief story is a kind of microcosm of what faith asks of us.  Often, our faith calls us simply to wait:  to wait amid great tension, the unresolved tension of living with a problem, an evil, a type of affliction, without having a clear understanding of its nature nor of its solution.  I find that these are the times of our greatest temptation, and also possibly of our greatest triumph.  So much depends upon the faith that we are called upon to cultivate, nurture, and strengthen by simply living with that tension, placing ourselves in the hands of faith, of prayer, of God, and being able to sit in that place without its overwhelming us.  This cultivation of detachment through faith is not a question of stoicism.  It's not a question of being able to fully control our feelings.  It becomes a question of sitting with Christ, turning to God in that time, without an obvious solution or immediate sign or wonder, of being able to hold onto Christ with the tension, even in the midst of it.  We may find ourselves in time of prayer able to "let go" -- even momentarily -- in order to cling to Him or to those who also help us in our faith: ministers and fellow faithful, saints and all the hosts who make up the "great cloud of witnesses" in the living body of faith.  I find that no matter what the problem is that is facing us, no matter what its nature, the capacity for returning to faith in the midst of sustained tension is where God calls us to be as part of a journey of faith.  One may consider the great desire for immediate resolution, for certainty of any kind, and relief of the tension, to be a great temptation, even if it is a natural desire.  At that time we may be provoked to all kinds of action, but we are called to faith:  to living with the tension as we, step-by-step, place our circumstances and faith in the hands of God.  This does not mean we do nothing:  this man has sought Christ.  Prayer is not "nothing," it can be the source of great inspiration for solutions, or avenues of inquiry or pursuit, when we give ourselves a break from the temptation of panic or being overwhelmed, of hopelessness, or helplessness.  But we are always encouraged to find strength in faith without denying what we're feeling, to return to our union and reliance on God, that bond of love, and trust through all things.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and You are going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

- John 11:1-27

Yesterday's reading began at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles (an autumn festival), where Jesus' sayings had caused a division among the leadership. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."   Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch then out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

  Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."   My study bible tells us that the resurrection of Lazarus is the seventh sign in John's Gospel; today's reading begins chapter 11 in which we read of this final sign.  It is this sign that sealed the religious authorities' decision to put Jesus to death.  Bethany is on the slope of the Mount of Olives, approximately two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar" which literally means "God helps."    Similarly to the man blind from birth, whose healing formed the sixth sign of John's Gospel, and whose blindness was not because of any sin but meant so that the works of God would be revealed in Him, Jesus tells us here that Lazarus' sickness is for the glory of God, that the Son might be glorified by it.  This message, says my study bible, was sent back to Mary and Martha in order to strengthen them at Lazarus' death, so that they might take confidence in Jesus' words.  It says that the Son of God being glorified must not be understood to be the cause of Lazarus dying.   Rather, Christ is glorified as a result of Lazarus' death -- occurring from a natural illness -- and his being raised from the dead.

 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and You are going there again?"   Christ deliberately delays His trip to Bethany, and in doing so secures the fact that Lazarus is confirmed dead, the corruption of death setting in to the body.  Thereby, there can be no doubt of the miracle.  My study bible says, "The might of the Lord would be clearly seen by all."   Now is a short time before Passover.  At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (almost six months earlier), the religious leadership sought to stone Him.  They accused Him of blasphemy after He stated, "Before Abraham was, I AM."

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   This teaching echoes again Jesus' words just before He "enlightened" the eyes of the man blind from birth.  At that time, He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."    To sleep is often used as a reference for death in the New Testament, as it is associated with a temporary state:  true death can only occur after Judgment.  All will awaken for that time.  (See Acts 7:60,1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.)  My study bible says that Thomas's statement here is an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It also illustrates the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24).

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.   The notation that Lazarus has been in the tomb four days is very important.  My study bible reports that at the time there was a rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days.  After four days, however, resuscitation would be impossible.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.   It's in important understanding conveyed here concerning just what other witnesses are present.  This is a prominent family; many among those ranked with the leadership have come from Jerusalem to comfort and to mourn with them.  Mourning, says my study bible, began on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing lasted three days; lamentation lasted one week, and general mourning lasted for thirty days.

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  This verse characterizes the two sisters, reflecting the stories we know about them elsewhere (Luke 10:38-42).  Both react differently to Christ's arrival.  My study bible tells us, "Martha, being inclined to active service, rushes out to meet Jesus, while Mary remains in mourning until called by Christ" (which we shall read about tomorrow).   Mary is sitting in the traditional posture of mourning and receiving other mourners (Job 2:8, 13; Ezekiel 8:14).

Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."   My study bible suggests that while Martha possesses great faith, her statements indicate a lack of understanding about Christ.  There's a limitation on what Christ can do, according to her statement, "If You had been here, my brother would not have died.   If Christ is God, he did not need to be present to heal (contrast 5:46-54).  In saying that "whatever You ask of God, God will give You," she shows a lack of understanding that Christ possesses full divine authority to act as He wills.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."     Regarding Jesus' statement, "I am the resurrection and the life," my study bible says that to correct Martha's misunderstanding, He declares His divine authority to raise the dead at the last day, as well as here in this world.   A note says, "Such is the power of these words that Martha is immediately led to her great confession of faith.  Do you believe this? is a question directed not only to Martha, but to all of us."

It's interesting to think about the differences between Martha and Mary in character, and the ways in which each is a friend of Jesus.   John's Gospel tells us (above) that Jesus loved each one of them:  Martha and her sister and her brother Lazarus.  Each plays a unique role, and each sister has strikingly different characteristics, but true to the things Jesus has been saying about each one of His sheep, that He knows them by name and that they love and know Him, Jesus loves each one of these very different people.  Over the course of the reading, we'll get a chance to delve more deeply into the differences of character, and also to see how Jesus loved these people.  But what we remember today is Christ's love for each one, that He knows each one (as Good Shepherd He "calls each one by name") and has stated in chapter 10,  "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."  (See John 10:1-18.)  In Jesus' dealings with this beloved family, we can see His interaction with each one.  They're not just a "group" to Him; they're not just a prominent family.  They are all, or each, individuals who are loved and given what each one needs.  This is the illustration in action of the Good Shepherd, and all those who wish to be good pastors (whether laypeople or clergy) should take note.  In Jesus' interactions, even as He will perform the most spectacular miracle or sign possible, he behaves in ways that teach us what it is to truly practice love in action.  There's no formula here, but He meets each one where they must be met, and His teaching and instruction are also forms of love in action as each one needs them.  This characterizes all interaction in the Gospels between Jesus and these sisters and brother.  So well known, in fact, is Mary to the readers of this Gospel that John refers to an episode at the beginning of today's reading that is actually given later in the Gospel (John 12:1-8).  John tells us that Mary is the one who anointed Christ's feet with fragrant oil; thus we know not only of her great love for Christ but even an important and essential role she plays in the Gospels.  (She's also aware that she is anointing Him for burial, as that takes place just before Passion Week.)  It's an alternative reading for today, and worthwhile reading even though space confines us to one reading today.  But love in action is what we see today, and what we will continue to see in tomorrow's reading.  For now, let us consider what Christ does and how He does it, let us consider what love is and how it does its interaction among us, for each of us -- as the Gospel says, by name, knowing who each one of us is.  Let us consider these very different sisters and the role each plays, their beloved brother, and the love of Jesus, both human and divine.  Let us strive to be like Him in this way in which we may learn that kind of love, too.  In today's reading, Jesus says that Lazarus' illness and "sleep" "is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  When we choose to emulate His love, all situations can be ones in which we glorify God, via His grace.