A sower went out to sow his seed

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. 

 

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it as been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  

'Seeing they may not see,

And hearing they may not understand.'

 

 "Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 

- Luke 8:1–15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisees who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

  Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. The Orthodox Study Bible points out to us that these women were faithful to Christ to the end (Luke 23:49, 55), and they were also the first to receive and proclaim the news of Christ's Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness.  This indicates that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing.  

 

 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  At this great multitude gathered to Christ, who come to Him from every city, Jesus begins His practice of speaking in parables.  The Study Bible has a lengthy article on parables; it calls them stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The Gospels (and all of Scripture) are filled with parables; that is, images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  It says that parables give us glimpses of the One whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Here, as in St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus begins with the parable of the Sower.

 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it as been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  The Study Bible notes that the truth communicated by Jesus' parables is not evident to all who hear them.  The listener must have spiritual ears to hear, and even then not all have the same degree of understanding.  Thus Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, indicating the extent to which people may be responsible for their own lack of receptivity.  These mysteries of the kingdom of God are not obscure intellectual concepts, but rather the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defiled.  The Study Bible further comments that a person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  It cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary:  "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  Doing so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."

 

  "Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  As the Sower in the parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 55:10-13.  The Study Bible asks us to note that while some might teach that a person is permanently saved at the moment he professes faith (which is a view never held by the historic Church) the teaching of Jesus is clear here that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.  

 

How do we hear what Christ wants us to hear?  How do we know a message is for us, or even that the seed Christ plants today must be developed a certain way through our cooperation?  Whichever ways we understand this parable, it is clear that the "good ground" depends upon us as much as anything else.  In this concept of spiritual growth (and the fruit it produces), our own cooperation with and receptivity to Christ and to the Holy Spirit play a part.  This is understood as "synergy," a response to grace.  This is what Christ seeks in His parables.  Our own benefit from them depends upon a heart open to them, spiritual eyes and ears that may perceive.  This capacity may change throughout our lifetimes, and it's important to remember that repentance -- "change of mind" as the word literally means in Greek -- is always open to us.  We may always turn toward God.  In the image of Himself as Sower, Jesus indicates that the seeds are His teachings, the gospel message of the Kingdom of God.  These seeds are also held in the gifts Christ gives as the sacraments in the Church and the power of prayer.  Even the benefits we receive from the sacraments (such as the Eucharist) depend upon the ground of ourselves in which they are planted.   Prayer is especially important to this endeavor.  Indeed, there is a prayer attributed to St. Ambrose, who has so prolifically contributed to our understanding of the Gospels, for exactly this purpose:  "O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit.  Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and enjoy You, for Christ’s sake.  Amen."  Emphasizing the soil of the heart, St. Cyril of Alexandria says of Christ,  "He is truly the Sower of all that is good, and we are His farm" (Commentary on Luke, Homily 41).  We know that farms and gardens continually require attention to the soil, amendments and preparation.  So, as His "farm," let us continually prepare the good soil of the heart for His seeds and the explosive growth of grace and the Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, "The old is better"

 

 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

 

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

 

- Luke 5:27-39 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"  

 

 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. According to the Orthodox Study Bible, here Levi (whom we also know as St. Matthew the Evangelist) answers Christ's call, "Follow Me."  He leaves his occupation to become a disciple.  From the beginning of His ministry, my study Bible says, Christ has been a friend of tax collectors and sinners, which is one of the Pharisees' complaints against Him in today's reading.  Levi was perhaps one of the tax collectors who had been prepared for Christ by St. John the Baptist (Luke 3:12).  Just like the fishermen, Simon (Peter), James and John in Monday's reading, in today's text Levi left all to become a dedicated disciple.  

 

 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  According to my study Bible, this feast is an expression of St. Matthew (Levi)'s joy and gratitude.  It says the guest register is a stirring demonstration of the fruit of Christ's love and forgiveness. 

 

 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  My study Bible notes here that Christ's earthly life is a tie of joyous blessings.  But there will come a time when His followers will practice the fast.  

 

 "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'" This saying occurs only in St. Luke's account, my study Bible says.  It illustrates several things.  First there is the difficulty with which the Jews would accept the new covenant (played out among early Christian believers; see also Acts 21:15–26, from today's lectionary).  It illustrates also the inner resistance a person faces in turning from a sinful way of life.  Finally, it is an image of the general stubbornness of the human heart.  

 

 Today's reading highlights elements of transition from the Old Covenant to the New, which also played out in yesterday's reading about the paralytic and Christ's healing (see above).  In our commentary yesterday we discussed at length the transition from a legalistic framework for understanding sin to the mercy-based covenant offered by Christ.  Human beings seem to have a natural tendency to gravitate toward legalism; perhaps it's easier for our ways of thinking to have fixed rules with fixed punishments and requirements.  But Christ is offering a deeper reality, and doing so while still respecting that sin is something out of the bounds of what God wants and accepts from us and for us.  The tax collectors feasting with Christ are not there because He is tolerant of sin.  They are there because, having found mercy and release from sin, this feast is symbolic of the eventual wedding feast of Christ and His Bride, the Church; that is, the body of believers.  Just as He indicates here, the Bridegroom is with them, and so it is a time of joy for those finding their way to Him.  He offers freedom from sin, His way of salvation.  It is not an embrace of sinning.  Clearly it is something shocking to the Pharisees, and difficult for them to comprehend, for their way of thinking is legalistic.  For them there are particular rituals necessary to expiate or atone for sin, but only God can forgive, and they do not as yet accept Christ as Messiah or divine.  But God's love is not meant to keep us in the stuck place of sin nor to indulge us in it.  God's love is just that, love.  It is the perfect love of the Father that offers us guidance, a way forward, which is a way for us out of sin.  Of course, love requires a voluntary participation, a cooperation and response, and that is up to us.  God does not compel love, just as we cannot compel love.  But the invitation is there; and so we must learn to grow in it, like the expanding "new" wineskins, and grow used to the new wine.  This is what is asked of these tax collectors who've become disciples, and so it is also asked of us who call ourselves believers and followers of Christ.

 

 

So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her

 

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them. 

 

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 

 

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."   And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. 

 

- Luke 4:38-44 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus 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. 

 

  Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  The Orthodox Study Bible comments that this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which St. Peter is called Cephas) indicate that St. Peter was married.  It points out, moreover, that Christ's healing miracles are diverse.  In this case, He heals by touch; elsewhere He heals with a word.  This healing is immediate and complete, while others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or they require the cooperation of the person healed of of that person's loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  All of Christ's miracles manifest His redemption of ailing humanity.  Regarding Christ's rebuke of the fever, it cites the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."

 

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.   Here again, we see the same dynamic played out that we read in yesterday's lectionary reading (see above) in which the demons identify Christ, and He in turn rebukes them and does not allow them to speak.  We see several things at once:  that the demons must obey His commands; that they recognize Him and know His identity as the Christ and Son of God; and that Jesus' ministry at this stage must keep that messianic identity a secret.

 

 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."   And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.   My study Bible comments that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom.  It says that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  This same pattern, it notes, holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  

 

 In a modern scientific age, to rebuke a fever as a living, intelligent thing is far away from our understanding of illness.  But perhaps if it is difficult for us to understand or accept this, we might understand something else we can infer from the text.  That is, the ailments and ills of our world are all interconnected with the rebellion against God, the fall from grace.  If indeed, the symptoms of fever were the product of a kind of demonic affliction (and we cannot categorically deny that possibility in terms of our knowledge of the spiritual realm), then the text is telling us that we cannot separate sin from evil effects in our world.  We do not presume to say that someone's personal sin is the cause of their illness (for Christ Himself has taught us differently; for example, see John 9:1-4).  However, we can say that collectively we suffer in our world from the effects of sin that may have nothing to do with ourselves.  But we do inherit this "fallen condition," a world beset by false solutions, false beliefs, and the effects of the choices that accompany them.  And, if one may be so bold to say it this way, it is these effects Christ has come into the world to help us navigate through and to remove.  Christ's casting out and rebuking of demons -- with authority they cannot resist -- is testimony to His role as Deliverer, Liberator, and Savior.  But we also play a role in this battle through the tools of our faith, its sacraments, and our own cooperation with God's grace at work in us, thanks to the saving mission of Christ.  (This is called synergy in the theological language of the Church.)  There is an interesting perspective in commentary on these passages in which the demons identify Christ, and that is given to us through various Church Fathers, such as St. Cyril of Alexandria.  St. Cyril writes, "It was not right for them to usurp the glory of the apostolic office or to talk of the mystery of Christ with polluted tongues. Yes, nothing they say is true. Let no one trust them. Light cannot be recognized with the help of darkness . . ." (see also 2 Corinthians 6:15).  We may seek to compare this with Christ's teaching on the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23.  But there, as Jesus points out, the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; therefore what they teach is important, but their works must not be imitated.  The demons, however, as St. Cyril says, exercise no apostolic office.  Today it might be difficult for us to understand the difference between personal failings or corruption and the institution of a recognized office and its protocols, but we might all be better off should we restore such understanding.  In society we have laws for a reason; yet even corrupt individuals holding office are subject to those laws and the legal ways of correction, even if justice takes time, and -- factoring in the spiritual battle and its effects we've been discussing -- justice in a worldly sense is imperfect.  The fullness of perfect justice will only be found in the One Who is good; that is God (Matthew 19:17) and we do not know what that fullness will look like (1 Corinthians 13:12).  But to seek to know God and to learn to grow in God's love so that we also may practice that love is a lifelong process in which we hope for righteousness (Matthew 22:36-40).  So let us be aware of spiritual struggle, the pitfalls of that which seeks to take us away from Christ, and how we are to live by His light.  For He is here to heal the world, and that in a myriad of ways for us all.

 

 

 

He is risen!

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into the all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

- Mark 16:1-8, 9-20

In yesterday's reading, we were told that at Jesus' crucifixion, there were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead, and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where He was laid.

  Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  My study bible says, "At least some of the mothers of Jesus' disciples were involved in His life and ministry.  Mary the  mother of James is probably the mother of James, son of Alphaeus (also called James the Less), one of the Twelve.  Salome is probably the mother of James and John, sons of Zebedee, two of the Twelve.  They bought spices, aromatic oils, when the Sabbath was past, out of respect for the Sabbath-rest.  Anointing the body, but not embalming it, was a Jewish custom.  The women seek to fulfill this custom, in their courage exhibiting their great love and devotion for Jesus, in contrast to the scattered disciples.  They are rewarded by the honor of being the first witnesses to the Resurrection."

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.   My study bible says that the stone had been rolled away not to accommodate Jesus' Resurrection, but to show that the tomb is empty.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.   A note tells us:  Entering the tomb, that is, the first chamber, they see a young man who is actually an angel.  The details vary among the Gospels:  Matthew reports the angel as sitting outside on the stone (Matt. 28:2), while Luke recounts two angels in the vicinity (Luke 24:4)."

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. My study bible says that "and Peter indicates Christ's loving concern and encouraging word for the disciple who had denied Him.  Galilee, an area to the north of Israel and removed from the center of Jewish life, is already inhabited by Gentiles and represents Christ's mission to the Gentiles.  The plan of God progresses toward the goal of offering salvation and glory to all mankind.  So, in Mark, He instructs His disciples to return to Galilee after the Resurrection."

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  Let us note here that some manuscripts do not include these verses and the ones that follow.  My study bible says that "later traditions testify to several endings.  The Church, however, has always regarded this ending as canonical and inspired."  It notes that Mary Magdalene is the first to break the news of the Resurrection.  "She who at one time had seven demons now becomes the first to see the risen Lord."

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Let us note the Gospel says He appeared in another form.  Of this my study bible says, "Christ's resurrected body transcends not only time and space, but physical appearance as well.  He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples and sometimes not."

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.   A note says, "Failure to believe the report of the Resurrection is worthy of blame.  Jesus rebuked the disciples for unbelief and hardness of heart even as they experience the joy of intimacy with the risen Lord in meals alluding to the Eucharist.  The Holy Spirit comes to lead them to a full understanding of the mystery of Christ and His mission."

And He said to them, "Go into the all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  We observe the promises made in these verses, and the commands.  My study bible points out the command is to the Apostles to baptize.  It says, "to invoke the name of the incarnate Son of God is also to call upon the Father and the Holy Spirit:  three Persons, one in divine nature and divine power.  The power to cast out demons had already been given to the disciples.  Now future believers are also promised the gift of exorcism.  Speaking with new tongues was a gift highly valued by the Corinthian Christians (1 Cor. 13:1; 14:2-28).  For the Church Fathers this was the miraculous ability to speak foreign tongues in order to spread the gospel, as at Pentecost (Acts 2:6-11)."  It also points out that Paul took up a serpent and was not harmed by its bite (Acts 28:3-6).  "According to a tradition preserved by the Church historian Eusebius, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) in his later life, while tested by unbelievers, drank poison and survived.  The Church Fathers strictly prohibited deliberate, harmful acts against oneself as demonstrations of Christian faith."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  My study bible suggests that we regard the sequence:  "Ascension, sitting down at the right hand of God, mission.  This sitting down refers to (1) Christ's enthronement in glory and (2) the immovable stability of His royal state,  His eternal sharing in the divine power and lordship of the Father.  He will cooperate with the apostles, working with them and confirming the gospel they will preach, in part through accompanying signs.  The book of Acts provides ample evidence of this ongoing synergy between man and God."

So ends the Gospel of Mark.  Let us most especially note the cooperative promises of the risen Christ, working with them and confirming the word.   I believe that we can't possibly know nor define for ourselves all the ways in which this can happen; Christ's spirit can manifest in our lives in infinite ways, as the holy is infinitely creative, and the Holy Spirit and Christ's cooperative power are unlimited, beyond our attempts at categorizing or defining boundaries in any way.  We just don't know what new forms of holiness will manifest through those of faith, and we can't make solid predictions or judgments about it.  But the Gospel testifies to this cooperative power, this synergy as my study bible puts it.  Just one example of that synergy is the powerful witness of Mary Magdalene, a person out of whom Jesus cast seven demons, who not only becomes the first to whom He appears, but also becomes "Apostle to the Apostles" spreading the good news (that they do not believe!).  The Gospel itself teaches us of the unlikely workings of the holy, as we discussed in yesterday's reading.  The story of the first who show faith after His death by crucifixion is quite the most unlikely:  the group of women followers, the centurion, and Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin.  Synergy is a term we can use for the workings of man and God together, in this cooperative energy that creates something new, a manifestation of the holy in the world, and all the paradox we know and is contained in so much of the religious worship in the Eastern Church.  Christ the uncontainable was somehow -- for some brief period -- contained in the tomb, and in the womb of Mary, and in Jesus the son of Man.  In baptism we are each born of the Spirit.  And in faith, we really don't know how our lives may be transformed.  But we do know and have affirmed for us this strange synergy of Christ and man, God working together with us, and confirming the gospel through our lives.  Faith is our real key to this cooperative work, an active faith that is willing to invest itself in this synergy, in this covenant which Christ has made with us.  The risen Christ is not present for His own glorification, but rather to share with us and to lift us; His uncontainable nature there for each of us, His cooperative Spirit present in unique ways in each of our lives.  He was lifted upon the Cross, and lifted to the right hand of the Father, in order to extend His hand to us.  Let us remember this synergy, this cooperation, this gift of the risen Christ who is everywhere.  He has lived through everything the world could throw at Him, He ascends so that He will be with us in all things and through all things and places we may find ourselves.  His cooperation is always ready.  Are we ready to come to Him and live His gospel?  How do you live your faith?