That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel

 

 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.  

 

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

- Luke 22:24–30 

 

Yesterday we read that, when the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

 

  Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study Bible comments that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries which Christ has just revealed (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus corrects His disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom my study Bible says they already considered to be an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself, who serves us, although He is Lord of all.  

 

 "But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study Bible quotes the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, my study Bible says, but by the witness of their own lives.  As God's kingdom begins with Christ's Resurrection, it notes, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  

 

 It's always remarkable to me how the disciples will betray all the impulses of human beings which are contrary to the intentions of Christ's Kingdom.  They show us who we are, in this sense, and the things we all battle against.  In particular this includes all of our varied and myriad impulses of selfishness and especially a desire for worldly power and position.  As my study Bible implies, how can they have any idea how in contradiction and out of place their squabble and their concerns are after receiving the holy mystery of the Eucharist?  But such is the stuff of the Gospels.  It's often long after events and teachings have taken place that the disciples come to grasp the fullness of Christ's meaning -- with more to come in the history of the Church.  But they tell us who we are, and so our Gospels show us what we're up against.  Jesus redirects them in an absolutely powerful manner.  For what He is doing is giving them the image of the true power they will wield, the high places which will be assigned to them in the Kingdom.  But it is not the type of Kingdom that they expect.  One can read in the Revelation that "a great, fiery red dragon" appeared as a sign in heaven, and "his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth."  This is a story in symbolic language of the fallen angels, drawn by Satan in his own self-centered desire for power, and accepting human worship rather than serving God.  The one-third of the angels drawn down with him (whom we now call demons, and formed the backdrop of the story of pagan worship of a pantheon of gods) are meant to be replaced by human beings -- those who will serve in Christ's heavenly kingdom.  These are those, like the apostles, who have continued with Christ in His trials by following Him in this world.  They will take the place of the angels who failed to shepherd humankind (see Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Genesis 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6 Revelation 12:7-9; Matthew 25:41).  The aspirations of the apostles for places in a worldly kingdom are redirected by Christ to a goal of service (as He serves) and a heavenly kingdom that awaits a destiny that belongs to "those for whom it is prepared by My Father" (see Matthew 20:20-23).  As we have commented recently and throughout this blog, Christ comes to wage a spiritual battle in this world, to reclaim it -- and us -- for Himself and the Kingdom of heaven from the one known as the ruler of this world in the language of St. John's Gospel, the god of this age as St. Paul writes.   Let us remember that God is enthroned -- or not -- in the hearts and minds of human beings.  But moreover, there is a greater destiny for us, upon which rests the life of the world, meaning the whole of creation in the language of Scripture.  Jesus has come to prepare such a destiny for us; let us follow Him into the spiritual battle He asks of us.  Let us do as He directs the disciples in today's reading, take our minds from being conformed to this world and to the place that Christ prepares for us, and where He asks us to follow.   For that is how the good fight is fought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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, 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."  Today's reading picks up after a passage in which Jesus taught the disciples to pray, giving us what we know as the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father (see this reading for that passage).  Beelzebub is a "nickname," so to speak, meant to be derogatory, mocking the pagan god Baal, and Baal's many shrines whose names sounded similar.  This name, used by the Jews in derision, means "the Lord of the Flies."  Here, it is a direct reference to Satan. 

 

  Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  My study Bible comments that a sign is never given to those whose motive is merely to test God (see Luke 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 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."  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."  The strong man is Satan, whom my study Bible says holds sway over the fallen human race, while the stronger is Christ (see 1 John 4:4).

 

 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."  My study Bible comments 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, it notes, are different from those who work in good faith toward His purpose but are not yet united to the Church (see Luke 9:46-50).  My study Bible quotes St. Seraphim of Sarov, who says that only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and so therefore deeds done for any other purpose, "even if they are good, are deeds that scatter abroad."  

 

It's interesting to look at the word translated as scatters in today's reading ("He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters").   This verb is σκορπίζω/skorpizo).   If we look up the etymology of this Greek word, we find that it comes from an ancient root that means to "penetrate" or to "pierce."  Apparently it suggests to us a force that works like a battering ram or catapult, which can penetrate and enter into a body of persons or other things, and so scatter and divide them, with an action of breaking apart.  The same word has a common root with the word for scorpion (σκορπίος/skorpios) whose tail penetrates and stings, and an animal that is, interestingly, a metaphor for demons, who "sting" and torment people.  So, looked at etymologically, this word suggests to us a weapon of war that divides and splits (and hence, scatters or disperses).  If this is the action of a tormenting, stinging demon that may make a person "beside himself," or create dissension within a body of people, then Christ's power here is suggestive of a far more powerful weapon of war than the demons possess.  Therefore if we consider these various meanings, what we have is suggestive not of a passive sort of force or entropy by which those who do not gather with Christ fail, but rather the scattering is the result of the much more powerful force of Christ.  Moreover, there's another interesting word which is translated as "gather," and that verb is συνάγω/synago.  This is the root of the word synagogue, meaning "assembly" in Greek.  This verb συνάγω/synago for "gathers" is again suggestive not of some more passive force from within those who gather, but rather it suggests there is one by whom they gather, one who leads and so gathers.  Clearly that leading and gathering force is Christ, just as it is the power of Christ that will divide and scatter those against Him.   Taken together, the Greek of the original text reveals to us more about the power of Christ and how it works.  That is, the stronger man whose power and force overcome the will and effort of other "strong men" who seek to rule or lead in opposition.  Christ has come into the world bringing a Kingdom which is a kingdom of love, in which we are taught to forgive, to pray for one another, even to love our enemies.  But in spiritual terms, Christ is the more powerful force that destroys the rule of His enemies, the devil and demons that torment human beings, penetrating and scattering and dividing their efforts -- while in Him is the greater power to lead and to gather together to Himself those who love Him.  Taking these words together we can understand the power in the original Greek text, the authority and divinity present in the teachings.  While we have discerned from many passages we have read in St. Luke's Gospel so far the spiritual battle which goes on unseen behind what we know of our world, today's reading puts it in sharper focus.  Jesus' words draw quite profoundly upon images of battle between kingdoms for the authority over one place, a stronger man decisively overcoming a strong man who thought his goods were secure.  It's interesting how the word for scorpion (a metaphorical image for a demon) somehow is linguistically linked to the greater scattering and piercing power of Christ.  Jesus now journeys toward Jerusalem and the Cross -- which was a weapon used in an attempt to defeat Him.  But through His power the Cross upon which He was crucified will become the most powerful and decisive weapon of them all -- a true battering ram for the gates of hell (the devil's power of death), for they shall not prevail over His Church (Matthew 16:18).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes

 

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions , and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it." 

 

- Luke 10:17–24 

 

Yesterday we read that, as He set off toward Jerusalem, the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.   Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.  Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." 

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  My study bible says that I saw Satan fall describes an event that took place before the creation of the world.  It says that five times, Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Let us keep in mind that serpents and scorpions are images representative of devils and demons, and so fall into this same category of spiritual battle and all the power of the enemy.  But even this victory over the power of the enemy, Christ says, is not what we rejoice over -- rather that your names are written in heaven.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."  My study bible comments that the people Jesus refers to as babes are those of simple faith and open hearts (see 18:15-17).  

What does it mean that Jesus rejoices over the fact that God has "hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes"?  I connect this statement with those that came before it, in which Jesus speaks about the power of God at work through the Seventy that he has sent out on an apostolic mission.  Jesus said, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions , and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."  This is a sharing of holy spiritual power, and it comes not to those prophets and kings who have desired it, nor even the wise and prudent, but to the babes who follow Christ.  My study bible says that the babes are those who have simple faith and open hearts.  But we need to read this in the context of their relationship to Jesus.  In other words, their hearts are open enough, and their faith simple enough, so that they can perceive Jesus as He is, in His identity as Son and Christ.  In other words, it is the open heart and simple faith that allows us to truly see -- and to which God responds with revelation of God's power at work.  In modern times, how might we put this into context, and come to understand it for ourselves?  Many, if not most, of my readers live in nominally Christian countries, and come from cultures which long ago embraced Christianity.  How do we keep open hearts and simple faith?  How does one keep an open heart and simple faith when bombarded with news stories and social media eye-catching attention-seeking "musts" and "shoulds" all the day long?  How do we keep our faith simple and our hearts open when we're pulled in so many different directions -- from terrifying news stories, to outrageous and shocking media, to the latest celebrities climbing on bandwagons and drawing our attention in a million different directions?  The simple truth of the matter is that maintaining and open heart and simple faith is work, and perhaps we might characterize that as our central work as faithful Christians.  To maintain an open heart is, in effect, to cultivate a state of the heart that is open to the leanings and understanding that God wants to plant there.  This does not mean that we seek out special dispensations, or strange ways of practicing and cultivating asceticism, or engage in anything which is extreme or dangerous.  What it does mean is a careful cultivation of the peace we need to set time aside and pray as Jesus has taught us -- both in the secret place of our room (Matthew 6:5-6) where God who sees in secret, sees us pray in secret, and in liturgical services and traditional practices of the Church, built up through the centuries to help us shore up our faith and protect those "open hearts."  These are safe places to open up the heart, ask not just for God's blessing but also renewal and good direction, creating fertile ground for God's power and energies to be at work in the world.  Our open heart is the fertile ground for the seeds of the Sower which may bear an abundant harvest.  A simple faith is one that remains in that simple place of the open heart, in which it is just our bedrock of the love of God that sustains where our faith is, and remains the place we return when we're questioning or perplexed or cannot understand what the world seems to be saying to us.  This is the simple faith place where we understand -- just plain and simply -- that God loves us, and that in Christ we know the One who came here to die for us.  That simple and plainly powerful declaration of love that we truly know is the place where we take refuge for our simple faith.  It is the place where we know what we know, the bottom line root of who we are in this world.   

What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us?

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

- Luke 4:31-37

In yesterday's reading, Luke's Gospel told us of Jesus' visit to His hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. So far, He has led a very successful ministry in Galilee and is well-known. But, He says, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country." He reads the prophecy of Isaiah at the synagogue, that refers to the coming of the Messiah. Clearly the reference is to Himself, when He says that this Scripture is fulfilled in their hearing. But they have known Him all their lives! He must prove Himself. Instead, He gives a warning, and states examples from the Scriptures in which it was the outsiders to whom the prophets Elijah and Elisha went. In their wrath, they wish to kill Him, but He passed through the midst of them, and went on His way. See The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Capernaum is to become Jesus' headquarters in Galilee, although His hometown is Nazareth. But, in yesterday's reading, we read how His neighbors and kin have failed to understand or accept Him and His ministry. Jesus teaches as one with authority while holding no title, nor having studied with a famous rabbi. His authority is in Himself, it is His own. My study bible says this is "unlike the scribes and Pharisees, who claim authority because of their academic credentials as teachers of the Law." So His is a startling ministry, of something new. But they are astonished in Capernaum, and they listen.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!" Now here is something interesting: His neighbors and friends with whom He has grown up fail to accept Him in His messianic identity (in the previous reading), but the demons know who He is. The "us" (according to my study bible) is plural because it refers to both the demonic presence and the man himself. They are both afraid. They both know who He is, but His Nazarene "brothers" have failed to know Him. And, as with the temptations in the wilderness, Luke gives us a clear understanding of the spiritual battle into which Jesus earthly life is set. There is something else going on behind the scenes, a hidden kingdom, a battle for hearts and minds and souls, of an entirely different nature than what we understand as worldly battles or war. And yet, it is being fought here in our world, and Jesus is the one who "breaks through" into our midst to set the captives free.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Here is the victory: the demon that possesses this man is commanded to be quiet and to come out of him -- "and did not hurt him." This is one example of setting a captive free (as in Isaiah's prophecy in yesterday's reading), to release someone to spiritual freedom. There are all kinds of slavery in the world; Jesus is the One who comes to bind the "strong man" so that we are truly free.

Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. So, Jesus now displays another kind of authority and power: it is not just in His teaching and preaching in the synagogue, but it is also over the things which bind and enslave -- a demon that possessed a man. We note how this psychological and spiritual slavery works: the man himself was also afraid of Jesus, and highly "attached" to the thing which bound him, afraid of destruction. It is this type of authority upon which we call to help us with our own frailties in life, and to give us strength to work and live in truth - to separate us in our identity from that which harms us and binds us in fear. In this, Jesus' ministry and recognition now grows - "out into every place in the surrounding region."

Are there things which make you feel enslaved? Things to which you are bound which cause you fear of going forward, of facing truth, or of coping with problems which seem boundless and immeasurable? We should remember that Christ came to set the captives free not as a warrior in the kinds of battlegrounds we think of when we think of war, but rather a war waged for our very own spiritual and psychological health, as well as health on any other level. What is it to be truly set free? To be spiritually liberated? Christ has taught that He is here for our strength, to help us in such battles, as He said, "With God, all things are possible." But it may require us also to do the work of facing our fears, and going through the changes He asks of us. With His help, this can be done. For with God, Luke has also told us, nothing will be impossible.