Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

- John 8:33-47 

 In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, and teaching daily in the temple in Jerusalem.  He has been in dialogue and confrontation with the religious leadership.  It is now the last day of the eight-day feast, and Jesus has been addressing the leadership.   For the earlier parts of this current dialogue, see the readings from Friday and Saturday.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus said to them again, "I am going away and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham."  My study bible says here that it is not enough to be related simply by blood to Abraham.  To be Abraham's true children it's necessary to share his faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).   My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who taught that Christ wanted to detach the Jews from racial pride and teach them no longer to place their hope of salvation in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature.  Rather they should come to faith by their own free will.  The idea that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation is the very thing that prevented them from coming to Christ.

"But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."  Christ again refers back to His relationship to the Father.  Here He emphasizes that He was sent from the Father to His Incarnation on earth.

"Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  My study bible tells us that just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing his attributes (above), likewise, those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil.  This particularly manifests as a hatred for truth.  (See yesterday's reading for a discussion of truth.)   This hatred justifies calling them the devil's children.

In yesterday's reading, we discussed the concept of truth, especially the truth that is Christ ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6).  Here Jesus speaks about the opposite of truth, the hatred of truth.  In yesterday's reading, He taught "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  In today's reading, Jesus begins to address the opposite of freedom, slavery -- and its relationship to the rejection of truth.  All of this is linked to the personal relationship (as in a relationship of persons) to the Son.  Abiding in His word creates sonship, the freedom of full belonging, something akin to the fullness of citizenship but with the greater blessings of inheritance.  But to actively reject His word, this truth, is slavery, and worse.  It not  only produces the state of slavery to sin, but allies with the one who hates the truth of God.  In this sort of slavery, relationships are reduced to forms of power hierarchies, exploitation, and manipulation.  Persons are diminished to things, which are useful or not -- or they become obstacles to our desires.  Without discernment, without "righteous judgment," we may become willingly compliant.  To be unable to listen to His word is to ally with that which hates truth, and to inherit the place of the one who rejects, who lies, and who was a murderer from the beginning.  Such hatred results in the desire to kill Christ, to kill God's messengers, the ones who bear this word -- including the prophets who came before Christ (see Matthew 23:31).   At a fundamental level, there is a part of us that rejects or accepts the spiritual truth that Christ brings into the world, the word of God He speaks.  And Jesus presents this within the fullness of relationship and relatedness, not an intellectual debate.  This kind of truth is something that has power to it, and depth of meaning that keeps on giving the longer one pursues a life based on finding its fullness.  It creates true relationship, and it is born out of the love of God that would give us life eternally and in abundance.  This relationship permeates and supersedes all others.  It teaches love.  All of that is what is tied up in active rejection and hatred of it -- and all of that is what is lost.  Jesus teaches these men that to be true children of Abraham is to live as did Abraham, in faith and love of truth, of God and God's word.  Abraham was taken out of his home in Ur, and sent to live far away, led by the word of God and the love of God, by faith.  So the challenge is before these men:  can they go where the Word is taking them?  Can they accept what He teaches?  We're told that among them there were those who believed -- can they make the same journey that Abraham did?  And can we?  The spiritual truth of Christ comes to us and pulls us out of our sense of who we are.  It takes us beyond what we think we know, what identity we cling to.  It always promises us more life, life in abundance, something beyond our particular comfort zone, and into a greater fullness of its promise.  It wants to give us its full freedom from slavery.  Can we follow where He leads?  Do we love the truth that much?

Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods'?"

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.

- John 10:31-42

In yesterday's reading, we continued to read about the disputes in Jerusalem, between Jesus and the temple leadership. The leadership is divided about Jesus. Recent readings have been taking place at the autumn festival of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now the scene shifts three months ahead, to winter. It is the time of the Feast of Dedication, or Hannukah, the festival of lights. This is the commemoration of the rededication of the temple to the God of Israel, my study bible says, "after the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated the temple in 167 B.C. The leaders of Israel's past are commemorated, many of whom were literal shepherds." Jesus has just given the illustration of Himself as the Good Shepherd. In yesterday's reading, He continued. At the Feast of Dedication, the leadership asks Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." He again referred to Himself as the Shepherd, and the sheep who are of His flock know Him. They know His voice. His works bear witness of Him, but they do not believe Him, because they are not of His flock. He said, "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?" As He is condemned by the leadership for His teaching that "I and My Father are one," Jesus refers back to the "witness" to His identity, the good works or signs He has done. The emphasis on witnessing is important to understand in terms of the theology that Jesus teaches. It is as if He is saying to us that we are responsible for understanding the revelation of God in our midst, the signs of God or of God's grace and presence. The leadership fails to discern this; it is a kind of rejection of grace, of the evidence of the presence or shining forth of God in our world.

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'?" Jesus refers to the Scripture which tells of becoming "sons of God." In some sense, that is a sonship given by adoption, by the word of God. Jesus is referring to Psalm 82, verse 6, in which the Lord says, "I have said, 'You are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.'" Ironically, the psalm tells of the failure of the holy assembly of the God of Israel (those to whom the God's word has been given) to recognize this fact about themselves, to live up to it in righteousness and good judgment, and the resulting outcome -- that they will die like mere men, they will fall like any other ruler. Jesus compares the "gods" of the psalm to Himself, and to the witness of His good works to His Sonship. The Scripture calls them gods -- why is He therefore blaspheming?

"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. Again, Jesus refers to the "testimony" of His works, the signs of the Gospel. These good works are witness to the Father's presence with Him in all He does. But the time has come when the leadership wish to condemn Him. Jesus escapes.

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. Though the leadership condemns Him for blasphemy, Jesus continues to find many believers among the Jewish people. Here, those who were followers of John the Baptist now follow Jesus. This is another testimony offered in the Gospel, that of John the Baptist, whose testimony, it tells us, is true.

There is a lot in today's reading about witnessing and testimony. We also come to understand concepts of God's "showing forth" -- the presence of God the Father manifest in Jesus' good works. This is also testimony, a kind of witnessing to God's presence. John the Baptist also was a witness, a true witness in spirit, who came as a holy man, testifying to the One who was to come, and identifying Jesus as that one. When we think of witnessing and testimony, can we come to terms with what this means in our own lives in a spiritual sense? What "bears witness" in your life to the work of God, the work of the Spirit in the world -- the Gift for which Christ was sent into the world and which He left with us? Do you bear witness to that gift in your own life? Do you recognize that witness or showing of the presence of God? I would invite each reader to think about this today. If the presence of the word of God conveyed sonship on those in the assembly, what does its presence do in your life? How do you witness to that? What signs have been in your life (no doubt less spectacular than those of Jesus!) that bear witness to God's presence, to the grace we have been given? Faith itself can be a sign of grace, a depth of prayer, an extraordinary gift of understanding. How do you receive testimony of sonship? Jesus has also taught, "By their fruits you shall know them." His signs are the fruits of who He is, His identity. By what fruits do you recognize the work of the Spirit in your life? What testifies to sonship?

Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean

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, show 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." 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 also am 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 out 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 lying 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 8:1-17

We have just completed the readings in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew's gospel. Those readings of the Sermon on the Mount include: The Beatitudes (Part 1), You are the salt of the earth - You are the light of the world, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift, You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . , Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect, Your Father who sees in secret, who is in the secret place, Our Father in heaven - The Lord's Prayer, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you, Judge not, that you be not judged, and Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Yesterday's reading was the final in the series of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught about Judgment, that He is Judge. There will be those who have done great works, cast out demons, and prophesied in His name, but He will not recognize them, He said, on "that day." He emphasized that it is the doing of the will of His Father in heaven that is the truly important thing. The sayings in the Sermon on the Mount are the things we must remember in order to practice our faith. Most importantly, they are the things that teach us to build our houses upon a rock, so that all the various problems of life do not take away our security and firm foundation of faith. See Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

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, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." In today's reading, we have three healing miracles. The first is this, of a leper. It is immediately "when He had come down from the mountain" after the Sermon on the Mount. We hear of the great multitudes who follow Him, so we know that He is already a popular preacher. But leprosy is a particular and special case. It was considered a spiritual affliction -- a sign of having sinned, a direct punishment for sins. Lepers were considered, therefore, unclean and unable to live in community, even to worship. Only priests were allowed to purify lepers and leprous houses. And, my study bible points out, even touching a leper was forbidden by Mosaic Law. So, this is an extraordinary healing for several reasons and reveals Jesus' divinity. The Law doesn't apply to Him in the sense that He is at once beyond it and also the author of it; He has just given a sermon in which He expanded on and fulfilled the Law. He speaks with an authority of His own, and this is a part of it -- the authorship of the Law. But His messianic secret is just that, still a secret, except for those to whom it has been revealed. He respects the Law and teaches the leper to do so as well. But beyond even His divinity, we witness His compassion. Healing is a tremendous sign of divinity in its compassion and love. Couple that with the idea that leprosy was considered punishment for sin and you have not only compassion, but forgiveness and reconciliation -- a truly profound teaching on the nature of the love of God. And it is all for this man, alone, cast out, afflicted -- not a display of power for the world or worldly eyes.

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." Our next healing miracle takes place in Capernaum, the headquarters for Jesus' Galilean ministry. A centurion was a commander of 100 men in the Roman legion, a very powerful man. Nevertheless, He is a foreigner, another person who is not a part of the Jewish community, a Gentile. But we note again the sign of compassion -- this time on the part of this Roman commander. His servant is "dreadfully tormented." As we noted when we went through the Gospel of Mark most recently, the language here is judicial in its origin. This word for torment is akin to "torture" in the sense of extracting a confession by beating. As Jesus is Judge, the antidote to the harsh "ruler of this world" is His love and compassion. But we see a sign of similar compassion first in the centurion. Perhaps it is just this that sparks Jesus' positive response to 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 also am 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!" The next thing we note is another sign of the character of this centurion. That is his humility. Jesus began His preaching in the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. He taught there, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The centurion shows this quality; he is humble before Christ. And moreover, He understands and grasps immediately the authority that is in Jesus. For this, it is Jesus' turn to marvel: "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 out 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. The revelation of the character, perception and faith of the centurion sparks a revelation from Jesus. My study bible points out that it is only twice that we are told Jesus marveled: the other occasion is at the unbelief He encounters in His own hometown. Here, the Gentiles are embraced as sons of the kingdom, while many who are "sons of the kingdom" as the chosen people of God will be cast out, an occasion for immense grief and loss. This is a new Gospel, indeed, a radical equalizing and embracing of all people. The expansion of the Law as in the Sermon on the Mount now becomes an expansion of what it is to be a part of the people of God: this God is for people of all nations. One enters this kingdom by faith. To be with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is to share the kingdom with its Patriarchs of that faith and the spiritual inheritance it implies. To lose that inheritance is tremendous beyond our understanding. Once again, as with the leper, the Gentile centurion is not a part of the Jewish religious community, yet Jesus offers to enter His house -- an act, says my study bible, that would make Jesus unclean in the eyes of the Jews.

Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. Here is another distinct healing miracle. He heals a woman by touch. In this case, as Peter's mother-in-law, she is restored to her place, she "arose and served them." It's important that we consider this personal act of restoration and healing for a women, and an elderly woman - Peter's mother-in-law. It is another act of compassion for someone who is on the outskirts, not in the center of religious community life. And He heals her by touch -- again, a sign of His compassion and inclusion, His reach beyond the Law. This is not a ministry merely for men, but includes, truly, all of us in its call.

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." Here He casts out the spirits in the demon-possessed with a word, and heals all who are sick. Again, we can see the forces of two kingdoms at work -- the "ruler of this world" is an oppressor, and Jesus casts out its oppressive forces with a word in greater power. He heals all who are sick -- the words in the Greek also signify that illness is a kind of possession by some form of evil, something which harms man, takes away the good health that is of God, to be afflicted by something bad. So, "restoration" by a healing word or a healing touch takes on a quality of an assertive authority bringing in the reign of the good where the bad seeks to dominate and oppress. And how does this happen? The gospel gives us Isaiah's prophecy about the Suffering Servant. He is the one who saves by taking on all our illnesses and infirmities. He serves all.

We note once again, as we have an earlier readings, the act of sacrament at work. In this case, all is given up to Christ -- infirmities and faith, weaknesses and strengths. He takes on the infirmities Himself and returns to us our wholeness, just as He will take on the ailments of this world for Himself, although He is here to overturn that evil kingdom of oppression. Can we catch a touch of this grace? Can we understand it for ourselves? In Jesus' healings today, He exemplifies the tremendous grace of this kingdom. It reaches out to all, there is no exception. Can you hear the call? Can you grasp the faith as did the centurion? That is all it takes to become a son by adoption. He serves us all, and yet He is king and God, returning us to a life of restoration and healing, so that we may be with Him in His kingdom. By this we learn God's law of love.