Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." 

 

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"   

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

On Saturday, we read that in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   A sign from heaven, my study Bible explains, means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but the Pharisees have not recognized the sign already being performed by Jesus, because their hearts were hardened.  They thus ignored the works happening all around them.  A sign is never given to those whose motive is to test God, my study Bible adds.  

 

 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"    My study Bible explains that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it notes, leaven is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, it explains, leaven symbolizes a force powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  

 

In today's reading, we have two kinds of "hard-heartedness" or lack of belief that we read about.  One is of the Pharisees and Herod.  They seek a sign, and it must somehow be proven to them that Jesus is a truly holy man, let alone the Christ.  It doesn't matter how many "signs" are present in Christ's ministry, doesn't matter how much of what He does is a reflection of God the Father, they won't believe.  Clearly, they don't want to, and have particular interests to guard that might be threatened by the holiness of Christ and His ministry.   Essentially, they want to be "manipulated" into faith, shall we say; that is, forced into it by some spectacular act that will leave no doubt.  But this is not Christ's mission nor ministry.  He seeks those with eyes to see and ears to hear (Isaiah 6:9-10).   What we call hard-heartedness seems to take on two forms.  There is first of all the kind of hardness of heart that Jesus refers to when He speaks to the disciples in today's reading, asking them, "Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?"   This is based on a Scriptural understanding of "the heart" as the seat of understanding and perception.  This "heart" is the door upon which Christ knocks when we read, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).  In this sense, a hardened heart is one that will not open to truth, will not open to the perception of spiritual truth and understanding to receive Christ, who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Then there is the "hardness of heart" that has developed as an understanding of the passage given in St. Mark's 3rd chapter, when Jesus is challenged over healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath.  The text tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue, watched over by the Pharisees to see whether or not He would heal on the Sabbath, something they had already faulted.  Jesus asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent.  Then we're told that Jesus look around at them with anger, and was grieved by the hardness of their hearts.  This incident led to the Pharisees plotting with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (see Mark 3:1-6).  This hardness of heart has come to mean a kind of cruelty, that in a modern secular usage seems to be divorced from the things of God.  But, in essence, we're speaking about quite similar things.  The message seems to be that a heart divorced of the things of God, will be divorced from even what is naturally good to us, like the healing of a man with a withered hand.  So, hard-heartedness in today's reading takes the form of this demand by the Pharisees whom Jesus condemns in their asking for some great sign -- but also in the form of Christ's questioning of His own disciples, when they fail to grasp what He tells them about "the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod."  They, the disciples, have certainly seen enough to know that He would not be complaining to them for lack of bread!  Here is the place where we have affirmed that the feeding of five thousand, and later of four thousand (see Saturday's reading, above), are clearly two separate incidents, in Jesus' words here to the disciples.  But the near-incredulity we can read into Christ's questions to the disciples teaches us that even He seems somewhat mystified at their lack of understanding, as if these feeding miracles had never happened.  We can think of at least one reason that might explain their repeated lack of understanding, and that is the encroachment of a threat from the religious authorities and the state against Christ.  It will be a long road toward their acceptance and understanding of what is to come ultimately in Christ's ministry, in His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.  So let us consider "hard-heartedness" as a term that means a lack of perception of the things that belong to God, the natural goodness of human beings, and the love that we know is of God (1 John 4:8).  For the text shows us that although we might stumble as human beings, there is redemption in the long road of faith, as for the disciples -- while there are still others who have no sense of repentance nevertheless.  Let us ask ourselves where our own hearts are hardened, and what thing we may need to learn to accept today, even if it is difficult for us.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How is it you do not understand?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighted deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments  did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

- Mark 8:11–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

  Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighted deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   What is a sign from heaven?  My study Bible explains that such a sign that is sought here would be a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs.  But these hypocrites (Matthew 16:1-3) have not recognized the many signs already being performed by Jesus.  Their hearts were hardened, meaning they have rendered themselves incapable of understanding -- and they ignored the works happening all around them.  Jesus seeks followers capable of faith.  These men only demand to test Him.  Such tests set their own standard, and have nothing to do with the desire to perceive the things of God.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments  did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  My study Bible explains that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, it says, "leaven" is used both positively (as in the parable at Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as Jesus does here.  In either case, leaven is symbolic of a force which is powerful enough -- and frequently subtle enough -- to permeate and affect everything around it (see St. Paul's usage at 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible points out that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21); and so, Jesus takes this blind man out of the town in order to heal him, away from the people who would scoff at the miracle and thus bring greater condemnation upon themselves.  (See also the healing of Jairus' daughter, in which Christ put those who ridiculed outside; He shored up the faith of her parents with His exhortation, "Do not be afraid; only believe" and with the presence of His three closest disciples.)   Moreover, it explains the healing of this blind man in stages as showing that he had only a small amount of faith.  Healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6). But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  In addition, my study Bible states that Christ's command not to return to the town is symbolic of the need not to return to our sins once we have been forgiven. 

Today's reading once again takes us back to the essential issue of faith, and how important it is to our lives.  But we go into some details here, in the few stories offered, and so the reading gives us to examine various issues about faith and what it does, and how we need it.  All of these issues remain pertinent to us today, regardless of when they first occurred, or the ancient context of the Gospel.  Taking the stories in today's Gospel reading in order, we first come to the Pharisees, powerful religious leaders from Jerusalem who seek themselves to regulate the faith.  They come yet again to Jesus, after having engaged in an open confrontation (and challenge from Jesus) which subsequently sent Him temporarily into Gentile territory, where He wished to remain hidden.  This time, they come to Him with their own challenge, which we can see as a sort of line drawn in the sand.  They demand of Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  Let us consider what testing Jesus means.  First of all, this is a test of their own devising.  But Jesus is in the world not to please human beings, nor effectively to offer proofs on others' terms, but to follow the will of God the Father.  In terms of the works of God, it's up to these men, and all the rest of us, to seek to discern that same will -- not to impose tests upon God.  For this reason, and likely many others, Jesus will not offer proofs on demand.  His mission is to seek and find the lost sheep of the house of Israel, who will come to Him by faith.  These men test Him out of envy for their positions.  This is "the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," which comes in the form of desire for proofs on demand, essentially a way to test power, and a dangerous game of finding fault.  But we can see that even the disciples are in some way affected by this, for they are effectively blinded to it.  They don't understand when Jesus tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, this type of gain-saying that sets traps by demanding proofs that cannot be delivered.  If we look around, we can still see today similar sorts of traps set by those whose real desire is to reject God and faith for themselves, proofs that can't come, straw men which in fact prove nothing.  These are forms of heresies asserted, such as claiming that if God is good there would be no evil in the world, or even echoing the taunting of the Pharisees at the Cross, that if Christ were really holy or divine He would not die on the Cross.  These are very human ways to doubt God, whose thoughts are not our thoughts, and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).  As such, they can become temptations for us, too.  Here, the disciples are so set in thinking a particular very "earthly" way that they cannot understand what Jesus is talking about, and assume that He's upset because they've forgotten to bring bread with them.  Apparently, they've also forgotten that Jesus has, in recent times, fed five thousand people in the wilderness out of a few loaves, and subsequently four thousand on another occasion in the same manner.  Even Jesus seems to be perplexed at their lack of comprehension:  "How is it you do not understand?"  If ever we needed an example of how "proofs" do not work when it comes to questions of lack of faith, this is it.  Nonetheless, such examples of the failure of Jesus' personally chosen disciples to understand are in the Gospels for a reason, and they are instructive to us for our own journeys of faith.  Finally, there is the story of the blind man and his healing.  It's most important that we pay attention to Christ's open efforts to find ways to shore up the man's faith -- first of all, in order to facilitate his healing to begin with, and second of all, in order to retain his faith and his well-being.  My study Bible points out that the man begins with a little bit of faith, but this increased with the touch of Christ.  The emphasis for us has to be on the recognition of the importance of taking steps to shore up our faith, even daily.  For while some would seem to suggest that be "saved" means simply a one-time declaration which we can then take for granted, this isn't the story of faith the Gospels reveal to us.  In fact, we really cannot take things for granted in the sense that, while God always extends love to us, we, however, have to do a little work.  We must "work the works of God" (John 6:29).  We need to work at shoring up our faith,  including perhaps avoiding those who seek to tear it down when necessary, and finding ways for Christ to "touch" us, in worship services, in prayer, through our friends who help to shore up our faith, the communion of saints, good studying materials and literature that helps us, and so many other helpful things, even the beauty of nature or the goodness of a kind gesture.  This remains essential for us to remember, not to take our faith for granted, but to remember how important it is to feed, nurture and protect it.  Moreover, like the blind man and like the disciples, faith is not a one-time declaration, but a journey in which we're meant to grow throughout our lives.  It remains of the greatest significance for us to remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength, as Scripture tells us (Nehemiah 8:10).  Let us feed and nurture that joy, guarding our hearts and protecting the faith that makes us see, doing all we can so that we grow in that light.

O you of little faith

 

 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

- Matthew 16:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus departed from the region of Tyre and Sidon where He healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.  Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.  So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."  Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.  Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

 

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."  My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works which were happening all around them.

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  An adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration used by the prophets when Israel was unfaithful to God (see Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).  Jesus refuses to prove Himself in some spectacular way -- a sign is not given to those whose motive is to test God.  (See also Matthew 4:5-7).  The sign of the prophet Jonah is Christ's veiled prediction of His death and Resurrection (Matthew 12:40), the ultimate sign that He is the Christ.  

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  My study Bible teaches that the reason the disciples are painfully slow to understand is that they have such little faith; in fact, they would not fully grasp Christ's teachings until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.

Why do we think the disciples are so slow to learn?  Christ addresses them, "O you of little faith."  He has to remind them about the feeding of the five thousand from five loaves, and the seven loaves that fed the four thousand on another, more recent, occasion (see yesterday's reading, above).  How does faith correspond with what we understand?  Clearly today's reading expresses that link for us.  Faith is also linked to the activity of the Holy Spirit, as my study Bible points out that the disciples would not really understand Christ's teachings until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.  We understand that the word faith is rooted in "trust" -- but in today's reading there is a link expressed between the growth of this trust in Christ and an understanding of His life, His works, His teachings.  It is as if the more full participation in the life of Christ is the one correlation with our understanding of it.  This, then, makes perfect sense out of why Christ will not give a miracle "on demand," won't acquiesce to the demand for a sign by the religious leaders.  There are all kinds of signs happening in His ministry, and they manage to ignore them anyway.  Any such proof would still be denied or explained away, just as they have already sought to explain miraculous healings by Jesus as the work of the demonic (Matthew 12:24).  We seem to be given a great clue to human nature in today's reading, since we're given to understand that so much depends upon what we put our faith into.  Human beings are capable of rationalizing away all kinds of things, of deluding themselves about relationships and other realities in order to empower beliefs that make life easier than the stark reality we'd rather not face.  In this case, the power of Christ's presence and work in the world is not easily acceptable.  We might understand the gospel of the kingdom of heaven as good news, but imagine being confronted with such shocking and powerful reality in the flesh, right in front of you.  For the Sadducees and Pharisees from Jerusalem, the reality of Christ is like an earthquake in their establishment, one that rocks their positions as the regulators and keepers of the faith.  How can they possibly assert a greater authority than One such as Christ if He's really divine, if He "casts out demons by the finger of God" (Luke 11:20)?  Their own faithlessness is self-protective in this sense:  what Christ brings into the world shatters their illusion of their own ultimate authority, for a greater authority is present here.  And what do we make of the disciples, who are so slow of comprehension that even Christ seems to be somewhat amazed?  They are witnesses to two miraculous feedings, and still they misunderstand His words about "leaven."  This teaches us, first of all, not to be afraid of our own "little faith" or comprehension, because faith is not a one-time-only declaration or experience.  It is a journey, and today's text clearly indicates that faith is something that grows and is dynamic within us, and parallel to it is our own understanding of the things of God, of Christ's action in our own lives.  To understand salvation as a one-time declaration of faith is belied by the text:  even though these men have left everything behind to follow Christ as disciples, they still have an enormous amount of growth to do as far as their spiritual lives and their faith is concerned.  And so it is with us.  There is no comparison between individuals, but all of our lives must be on a track going one way or the other.  We are on a road somewhere, and there are times when we will grow in faith and dependency upon God, and other times when our more comfortable understanding of life will do battle within us against the things to which God seeks to open up our eyes, about which we need a deeper faith, and a greater enlightenment.  Perhaps we feel highly secure with certain beliefs that need to be shaken up, perhaps faith calls us to relinquish a sense of control we don't really have -- such experience can be extremely disconcerting although our faith gives us a more true sense of reality.  There are times when we'll have to open up our eyes to the unreliability of particular relationships or certain things we take for granted in our lives; and again, that will spark a time when our faith will be at war with our fears, and that struggle for faith taking place within our souls.  These times can shake up our sense of ourselves and our place in the world, but we can usually count on them to be times when our faith is being challenged, our depth of faith being called upon to grow through the experience.  We will certainly be called upon to an even greater dependency upon God.  One way or another, there is a choice we're being asked to make.  It may seem like a strange quandary:  our understanding increases with faith, and not the other way around.  But this is the way that spiritual growth happens, the ways that challenges to faith will work in our lives.  So much depends upon that struggle within, and how we come to respond.  For this is the ongoing work of salvation.

 

 

How is it that you do not understand?

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

On Saturday, we read that, in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  Now the Pharisees are beginning to actively pursue Christ, seeking to dispute with Him, and asking for a sign from heaven in order to test Him.  My study bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but these hypocrites (see Matthew 16:1-3) have not recognized the signs which are already being performed by Christ, because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  My study Bible explains that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, leaven is used both positively (as Jesus uses it in the parable in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as He uses it here.  In either case, leaven is symbolic of a force which is powerful enough (and also often subtle enough) to permeate and affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

So what is this allusion to a leaven that permeates things, even which may permeate everything?  Here, Jesus is speaking of the hypocrisy and "hard-heartedness" of the Pharisees.  But leaven as metaphor may also be used to understand sin in general, and especially notions of what sin in an environment can do.  If we think of the "first sin" in the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), what we see in this story is a way in which one sin permeates an environment, and creates a changed condition in the ways that they live and the consequences to that environment.  The word often used for this condition in theological terms is "corruption."  It is not a deep, abiding, integral part of human beings who are created by God, and therefore are essentially good.  But it becomes a kind of subtly permeating influence, which can corrupt the good that is there.  As we have observed in recent readings, such as when Jesus spoke of what "evil things" can truly harm a person (see this reading), this understanding of corruption -- that is, of a subtly corrupting influence -- invites us to act with our own agency, to guard ourselves against such influence by guarding our own thoughts and understanding.  In theological terms, this is frequently called "guarding the heart."  We can see the language of the heart used in today's reading, when Jesus asks the disciples, "Is your heart still hardened?"   In Scriptural language and tradition (and therefore the understanding of the Church), the heart is considered an organ of perception and understanding, separate from the intellect.  It is there in the heart where we know Christ, in a very deep place within us which is unfathomable in its depth.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, my study bible notes, the heart is known as the "seat of knowledge."  But a hardened heart is one which is not permeable to the grace and knowledge of God; that is, it is a heart hardened against it.  This hardening of the heart, Jesus implies by His question to the disciples, can happen through influence, through this "leaven of the Pharisees," a way of thinking that shuts down our openness to the ways of God, and therefore to understanding.  A hardened heart is also a metaphor for one that is unsympathetic, not compassionate for others.  In this case in today's reading, this "leaven" is a narrowed way of looking at life, reducing everything down to some formulae, even abstract "rules" which do not allow for the reality which is right in front of us to be perceived by us.  The Pharisees attempt to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, challenging Jesus to perform some spectacular miracle and "prove" that He really is from God, prove that He is the rumored Messiah.  But marvelous signs are happening all throughout His ministry, just as the multiplication of the loaves was twice done by Christ.  The text in today's reading also opens our eyes to the fact that it's not just the Pharisees who don't want to see or can't accept what is right in front of them, the extraordinary nature of what Christ has done.  It's essentially a brilliant way that the story of Christ and His disciples has of illuminating to us that each of us has this potential weakness.  While the Pharisees are in a league of their own, one could say, the disciples are also vulnerable to this way of thinking that has kept them from truly understanding -- to the point where even Jesus marvels.  And if the disciples are vulnerable to it, then so are we.  In modern popular language, we might find this akin to being in denial about something that is plain as day to others.  The Gospels frequently remind us that the disciples weren't perfect -- they grow in their faith and in the grace that also works as a leaven (as in the parable of Matthew 13:33).  Today's reading is a good illustration of the capabilities that we have for choice.  The disciples are those who are with Christ in order to learn from Him, to be like Him, and with whom He shares His power as He appointed them apostles as well, to be sent out into the world.  They will become the foundation of His Church.  The Pharisees are deeply given over to the leaven of hypocrisy; that is a focus on appearance, and hidden flaws which corrupt well-intentioned law and allow for selfish practices.   They zealously guard their positions.  Again, the Gospels give us those Pharisees and members of the ruling Council who are deeply righteous, such as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who become followers of Christ.  Moreover Acts of the Apostles mentions the great teacher Gamaliel and his righteousness (see Acts 5:33-40), who was also mentioned by St. Paul as his teacher (Acts 22:3).  All of this acts together to help us to understand this dividing line between what is nominally good and nominally evil goes through our hearts, and that we have agency -- that is, we have the capacity -- to make choices about the condition of the heart and its receptivity to the things of God.  We are capable of turning this process around, through repentance, or we can choose to be stubbornly or deliberately blind.  We are all on a road somewhere, but remain capable of discernment, as Christ's seemingly incredulous question to the disciples implies:  "How is it that you do not understand?"  

 

 

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters

 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."

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

- Luke 11:14-23

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples went toward Jerusalem He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."  

And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  In between yesterday's reading and today's there is a passage in which Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.  The lectionary gave us that reading just before Ascension day (see the reading from Tuesday, May 23).  Beelzebub was a pagan god, the name one of ridicule and derision by the Jews, meaning "the Lord of the Flies."  As used here, it is a direct reference to Satan.  Jesus is being accused of using demonic power to effect his healings and signs.

Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is frequently asked to prove Himself by providing a sign from heaven.  That is, a kind of obvious sign of astounding power meant to "convince" others of His divine identity.  My study bible says that a sign is never given to those whose motive is merely to test God (see 4:9-12).

 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges."  Jesus knows their thoughts, one characteristic of His identity and divinity (He is also called the "Heart-knower"; see Acts 1:24).  He responds with logic:  every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, a house divided against a house falls.  Why would Satan attack his own kingdom.  And we note that exorcism was already a tradition in Judaism, so Jesus asks, "By whom do your sons cast them out?"  Their "testimony," which is accepted as the work of God in the world, becomes the judgment against those who accuse Him.

"But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."  This is as strong a warning as Jesus gives anyone.   The finger of God is the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28).

"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils."  Jesus makes a clear statement of power here.  The strong man is Satan, whom my study bible says holds sway over the fallen human race.  But the stronger than he is Christ, who comes as liberator or deliverer for human beings (see 1 John 4:4), and clearly a conqueror of evil. 

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."  Finally, this is a statement of absolute power.  It's unequivocal.  My study bible says that it is the work of Christ to gather the children of God, while those who scatter are in direct opposition to Him.  Those who work in opposition to Christ differ from others who work in good faith toward His purpose, but aren't yet united to the Church (see Jesus' statements and teaching at 9:46-50).  A note quotes St. Seraphim of Sarov:  Only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and thus deeds done for any other purpose, "even if they are good, are deeds that scatter abroad."

Jesus presents us with a spiritual paradigm:  there is a kind of "war in heaven," if we may use that phrase.  There are forces allied on one side and another.  Human beings are involved in this battle, and the battleground in our world is the human heart, the interior of a person.  The heart, in biblical language, is the center of the self, of consciousness.  It contains all that makes up who we are as persons, and depths that we don't know ourselves.  In this context, we should keep in mind that Christ is called the "knower of hearts," literally "heart-knower" in the Greek text (kardiognostes).  His statements here indicate not only a kind of battle or struggle for this world and the human beings in it, but also His own supreme power.  To say that he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters is really to state that there is no battle and no contradiction; in Him is the meeting of all things.  Whatever it is that struggles against this truth, this spiritual reality, does so in vain.  The one thing that may be missing here for those who encounter this language as the language of a worldly warrior is that mysterious but inalienable ingredient in the equation:  the human heart.  God does not compel anyone to love God, to return God's love.  In this we are free to make our choices.  We, unfortunately, have all kinds of influences on us, and part of the characteristic of the demonic is that it is materially-oriented.  Coercion, hypocrisy, persuasive falsehoods that appear truthful, fear and terror, oppressive violence and force, and many other forms of temptation and manipulation are part of the arsenal of that which is against Christ.  But what we put our faith in is His power to liberate, to be the redeemer, the one who ransoms us from captivity, slavery, imprisonment -- especially in the human heart and soul.  All of this battle takes place on a spiritual level, but we do experience day to day its working out in our world in time.  It may never be obvious -- we can view Jesus' refusal to give a sign as a signal that this is not about what manipulates and coerces!   It is ultimately the loyalty and love of the human heart for which Jesus is here in the world as incarnate God.  As He puts it Himself, He is here not to lose a single soul that the Father brings to Him.  But when we're faced with our own difficulties, temptations, terrors, and evil we can see manifest in the world, our faith must be in Him and His words:  "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."   This is the reality of a universe beyond what we know, the spiritual truth of Christ's identity.  But we walk through a world that will deny its meaning and its value.