Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh . Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  

 

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

- Matthew 19:1-12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Jesus gave a formula for mutual correction in the Church, Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'   So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  My study Bible explains that the basis of the Pharisees' test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1; 2.  With authority, my study Bible teaches, Christ adds His own clear prohibition against divorce here ("So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate . . . And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery").  Regarding Christ's last statement here, my study Bible also notes that the permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church.  These included threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, in all cases acknowledging the spiritual tragedy of such a situation.  In each of these cases for divorce, it's made clear that marriage can be destroyed by sin.  

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ is steering the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity.  This comes not as a rejection of marriage but rather as a special calling for some -- to whom it has been given. Eunuchs were common in the ancient world; they were men who had been castrated -- either by birth defect, disease, or mutilation -- and were frequently employed to guard women of nobility.  Here Jesus is using this term figuratively to indicate those who freely choose lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  This consecrated virginity, my study Bible adds, is not to be confused with self-mutilation, which the Church condemned at the First Ecumenical Council (AD 325).  See also 1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38 for St. Paul's considerations on this subject.

 

 It seems quite important to understand that when Christ speaks of eunuchs, He does not speak of celibacy for its own sake, for we notice He contrasts "eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men," and "eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake."  It seems quite noticeable that the difference between the two is dedication and purpose: for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  That this discussion (and a type of introduction of monasticism) comes at the end of a discussion about marriage as a holy and sacramental institution is no seeming accident, and gives us pause to consider celibacy in this light.  For celibacy as a matter of purpose and dedication is what Christ is talking about.  Just as celibacy is expected and understood outside of marriage for a married person, so a person (such as a monastic) is dedicated to their purpose of serving the kingdom of heaven with fidelity.  We could say then, that such a type of celibacy indicates a marriage to God and to God's kingdom as the primary bond in life, as husbands and wives are united to one another.  But marriage itself comes under the same bond in this sense, when we are speaking of marriage within the Church and as part of a holy sacrament.  For Jesus puts it in these terms, making it clear that this union is something that God has put together:  As with other teachings He gives, Jesus begins with the Old Testament, quoting from Genesis 2:24:  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  But adds His own strong prohibition against the breaking of this sacred bond, and making it clear that it is God who creates that bond, not man and wife alone and of themselves:  "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."   So two people joined together by God echo the joining of an individual to the kingdom of heaven by God.  Just as eunuchs in historical times served their purposes of guarding palaces, and in particular the women who were a part of royal life, those who would be wives and mothers of dynasties, so the "eunuch" who serves the kingdom of God does so to serve and to protect it, building up through prayer strength, protection, and the spiritual walls of God's kingdom here on earth.  Celibacy plays a role in devotion and dedication, just as fidelity is important in a marriage (and we note that Jesus makes an exception for sexual immorality in the case of divorce).  We can see by their reactions just how astonishing an idea this is for the disciples, that marriage should carry with it the kind of dedication Christ is speaking of here.  But it is in emphasizing that kind of fidelity and chastity that Christ introduces the concept of celibacy for the sake of serving the kingdom of heaven, and so this level of dedication becomes a keystone of the Church through His teaching and even through His view on marriage itself.  There is a sense of commitment that runs more deeply below the usual sense of autonomy in a modern world, a bond that we can assume from Christ's words that only God can create.  Let us consider what it is to build a consecrated life; that is one lived for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  We could consider the prophets of the Old Testament as those who lived this commitment, and John the Baptist most deeply illustrating such a life, for he is the one in whose image the monastic life of the Church was inspired and built.  The holy institution of marriage is sanctified through the Church as one of its mysteries, Christ's first sign in St. John's Gospel being that which took place at a wedding, the water turned to wine of covenant and sacred bond, the beginning of Christ's ministry, so fruitfully brought about at the word and perhaps inspiration of His mother the Theotokos.  In these stories we find bond, commitment, mystery, sacred covenant, and the deep faith that goes into a life of service for the kingdom of heaven.  Let us consider our lives and the covenants that build faith, a deep trust, a way to find who we are through the mysteries of Christ and the consecration He makes possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

A silver denarius

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, while teaching in the temple, Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

 

 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible says that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer is a defeat to their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render to the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, my study Bible tells us, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

 I always find Jesus' assertive rebuffs and answers given to the religious leaders who come to test Him quite intriguing.  This is because they are illuminating as examples of how to respond to those who quiz with the intent of entrapment or denigration of faith.  In our lives, we might find challenges to the things we believe, and often beliefs will be ascribed to us that we don't actually hold.  Similarly to the question in today's reading which is posed to Jesus, we might be offered dilemmas -- and assumptions contained therein -- that don't at all reflect the fullness of our values and beliefs.  In this case, Jesus is openly teaching in the temple, and so He has deliberately come to Jerusalem to make His Triumphal Entry, and to do as He is doing.   Without openly declaring so Himself, He is there in the temple at Jerusalem as a messianic figure.   He has already expressed this in the cleansing of the temple (see this reading).  So, as these men seek to trap Him in a "yes" or "no" answer, Jesus gives us an example of responding to such questions given with these types of motives.  He doesn't accept their dichotomy, the choices offered through the question.  Instead He asserts His own teachings, and does so using the brilliant example of a coin of the realm, a Roman coin printed by the state authority that controls Israel.  To paraphrase His response, "Whose face and inscription are on that coin?," Jesus asks.  Clearly the coin is printed by Ceasar's government, for currency exchange within the Roman system of administration.  Under an emperor such as Caesar, whatever is imprinted with his image or insignia is an extension of himself, his authority, and his power.  But by the same token, as those who are created by God, we also bear an image and inscription within ourselves, and so we belong to God, as my study Bible points out.  In His teaching and His response, Jesus not only refutes without falling into their trap or accepting their potential responses, He also teaches us about who we are.  He gives us a teaching that is essential to Christian faith.  As we are created in the image and likeness of God, and Christ Himself became Incarnate as a human being, so we are saved through His Incarnation in that we are to follow and become like Him -- to grow in that image and inscription of the name of God within us.  For this is eternal salvation, that we may come to dwell with God, and be a part of God's kingdom.  Every ruler, every state, mints coins and currency that bear the stamp of authority and belonging to its realm.  So we also bear God's image.  In this one instant, in these few words directing these men to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's, we receive the gospel message and the power of salvation from our Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  And in the presence of all the people, all these men who seek to entrap Him can do is to marvel at His answer.  Would that we all could be so eloquent, using so few words, as Jesus is, and know what we are to be about as His followers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh

 

Icon of Christ the Bridegroom, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."   But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

- Matthew 19:1–12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Christ gave the disciples a formula for Church discipline and mutual correction, Peter then came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted  to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  Here the Pharisees come to test Christ, and choose to test Him on the subject of divorce.  This was a hotly contested subject in this time, with debates between the Pharisees and other groups of the temple leadership, often focusing on abuses such as those with financial or economic incentives.  The basis of their test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4. My study Bible comments here that God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage which is revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.  With authority, it says, Christ adds His own clear prohibition against divorce.  Essentially, He does so twice.  First, when He says, "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate," and second, when He says, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."   My study Bible tells us that the possibility of divorce on the basis of sexual immorality shows that marriage, however, can be destroyed by sin.  On that basis divorce and a second marriage have historically been seen (according to the Orthodox Church) as a concession to human weakness and corrective measure of compassion when a marriage has been broken.  In the ancient Church, permissible reasons for divorce were expanded to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, but in all cases with acknowledgment to the spiritual tragedy of such a situation. 

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."   But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  My study Bible says here that Christ steers the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity, not as a rejection of marriage, but in particular as a special calling for those to whom it has been given.  Eunuchs, extremely common in the ancient world, were men who had been castrated -- either by birth defect, disease, or mutilation.  They were often employed to guard women of nobility, and in many empires played extremely powerful roles.  Here, Jesus is using this term figuratively for those who freely choose committed celibacy for the kingdom of heaven.  My study Bible adds that this consecrated virginity is not to be confused with self-mutilation, which was condemned at the First Ecumenical Council of the Church (AD 325).  See also 1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38.  

At first glance, one might consider that the two topics of Christ's discourse today -- marriage and virginity -- have nothing to do with one another.  Perhaps we might say they are opposites if our focus is on sexuality alone.  We might construe a choice for lifelong celibacy as a deliberate decision not to have a life partner, but rather to remain an individual without such a dedicated relationship.  But if we think about it, the two topics in today's do share something important and even essential.  In both cases of the person who chooses monogamous, and hopefully, lifelong -- even eternal -- marriage as well as the person choosing celibacy as one of the "eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" actually share a very important common characteristic.  In both cases, we are speaking of the dedication of one's energy and purpose in life to something beyond oneself.  In the first case to a marriage partner, in the second to serving the Church.  Each case will involve sacrifice and devotion and loyalty, and in each case one must choose that devotion of self to another, to a purpose that has to do with something other than selfish interest.  There is an important icon of Christ in the Eastern Orthodox tradition that is called Christ the Bridegroom; in Greek ὁ Νυμφίος.  It is sometimes called after Pilate's words to the crowd about the prisoner Jesus, "Behold the Man!"  (John 19:5), or in Latin, "Ecce homo."   Clearly Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church.  But in the Church that icon of Christ the Bridegroom, prisoner dressed in mocking garb, with a crown of thorns upon His head, and hands bound, is a symbol for marriage.  This is not the symbol of the modern romantic ideal, or sweet hearts and flowers, and grand moments of soaring emotion.  It is the symbol of what it means to make a marriage work:  it's an engagement in mutual sacrifice, in giving of oneself for something beyond only oneself and only one's own happiness or joy.  It is the symbol of what it is for two to become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), something forged through mutual love and self-giving.  It is a type of heroism upon which human beings and human flourishing relies.   In the context of Christ's teaching about eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, we should understand that the sacrament of marriage has often been called the layperson's way to holiness.  Just as a monastic will become a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven, in devotion to serving the Church and seeking theosis or union with God as one's highest calling, so marriage also calls us to grapple with and learn the rigors of self-giving.  Both in the case of marriage and in the case of the eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven whom Christ describes, He is speaking of what it means to be devoted in a kind of selfless love that asks of us sacrifices, giving, and eventual personal transformation for the sake of something greater.    This spirit of mutual giving is really an image of love.  Even a willingness to suffer for those whom we love, as did Christ, is something that calls us out of ourselves, and toward what it means to truly love.  So let us understand the image of Christ the Prisoner, the One who suffers for love.  For it is not to a romantic fantasy, but to the reality of what it really takes to know and live love, of how we might be called by God, both in marriage and in the Church, that we are called.  And it is indeed love that calls us there (1 John 4:8).

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. 

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible comments that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him, but a "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer, my study Bible says, defeats their cunning and shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

So what is Caesar's and what is God's?  What are we to make of Jesus' answer today?  There is first the understanding about the image on the coin.  Images are important considerations in Christianity.  In Greek, this word for "image" is εἰκόνα/eikona, meaning "icon."  An icon in this context is a picture of someone meant to evoke that person's presence.  For example, if we see a photograph of a loved one who is far away, and we kiss the photo, we don't do so because we love the photo, but because in so doing we are kissing the person, expressing our love in relationship to that person and not to the photograph.  This was well-understood in the ancient world, as Caesar's image imprinted on the coin, as well as the inscription or title which Jesus also names, were representative of Caesar himself.  Everything that bore his stamp or image was an extension of his person -- and this is what Christ is getting at here when He responds, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  So, in such a context, we must think about what belongs to God.  Of course, we're also told in Scripture that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  Εἰκόνα is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old Testament, the version Jesus quotes in the New Testament.  So, while the coin is minted by Caesar and created with his image on it, we have been created by God and God's image placed in us.  This is something we need to consider in prayer and worship, for Christ came to show us that image, to be an "icon" of God ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9).  Therefore we are taught by the example and word of Christ to become "like Him," to fulfill that image -- and this is also the purpose of the Spirit sent to us.  St. Peter writes, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).   We human beings are clearly capable of choosing that to which we want to be conformed, and this is a very important reason for proper worship.   Worship is a form of community participation; it is that which we worship to which we will tend to "conform."  Here Jesus contrasts Caesar and God.   Our earliest Christian martyrs were those who would not give worship to Caesar, who was also called a god.  Possibly our current cultural understanding is so steeped in politics that it is hard for us to understand that paying taxes to Caesar was simply honoring an obligation to the state, and not a form of worship.  We might find questions posed to us today of a similar "tricky" nature.  Sometimes we're asked to support an extreme perspective that has harmful effects, but if we object, we're accused of some hateful behavior.  Or perhaps we object to warfare and violence, but in so doing we're accused of supporting an oppressor.  The question posed to Jesus is tinged with the politics of the time, and the hostility of the Jewish people to colonization and the harsh conditions it imposed, including taxation.  But Jesus offers us a different perspective, refuting each side of the dilemma.  The struggles of the time fueled messianic expectation of a political messiah who would be king.  Indeed, at the Crucifixion, the crowd preferred to save Barabbas the rebel to Christ.  But Jesus avoids the "trick" dilemma posed here.  His answer, instead, provokes us to consider whose image and inscription is in us, first, and what and whom we worship.  How do we render unto God the things that are God's?  Jesus quotes the two greatest commandments in which are summed the whole of the Law and the Prophets:  To love God with all one's heart and soul and strength and mind, and neighbor as oneself (Luke 10:27).   This active love is participatory worship, and creates the bedrock of our reality, the recognition of true image into whose likeness we're asked to grow.  He asks us to go deeper than the heated questions of the day, and to find first what we must love, and live that love.

You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 

- Matthew 22:23-33 

 

Yesterday we read that, after their confrontation with Jesus in the Temple, the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

  The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.  My study Bible comments that Christ confirms there will be a resurrection, but not the sort the Sadducees imagine.  The Sadducees were a landowning aristocratic class, who did not hold with a doctrine of resurrection.  They followed strictly the written law in the first five books of the Bible (that is, the Torah), and not the oral teaching and interpretations followed by the Pharisees.  They imagine the resurrection to be a continuation of earthly life, including earthly marriage -- and thereby mock the doctrine with an absurd scenario.  But they are ignorant of the Scriptures, as Christ says, which reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, and make such earthly questions irrelevant.  Additionally, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  My study Bible states that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

The Sadducees as a class would disappear after the Siege of Jerusalem.  As they were a property owning class, also holding many high offices in the society and the priesthood, this is perhaps not very surprising.  But one can't help but wonder if it is also connected to their failure to grasp the notion of resurrection, an insight into the Scriptures which Jesus reveals here.  They were exceptionally prudent and adapted to Roman rule.  But the failure of imagination, a steadfast literal interpretation of the Books of the Law, seem to imply a strong focus on earthly life, and this is evidenced in their question which is focused on concepts of inheritance -- a topic which was very important to the Sadducees as a class and even historically in religious disputes over the Law.  Jesus seems to teach us in today's reading that it is essential to understand Scripture not as a kind of textbook, but as a type of literature with its own kind of language, conveying more than the absolute literal forms on the page, and asking us for insight, grasping our comprehension in ways that do not necessarily seem obvious.  Jesus tells them that they don't understand resurrection, because they neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God.  These are things that are not simply earthly concepts, but require us to use a spiritual imagination and insight to grasp.  Moreover, Christ gives us a taste of what it means to perceive the Scriptures with such insight and spiritual imagination or understanding, when He tells them, "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  That is, in the very language of the Scripture, the words of God reportedly said to Moses (Exodus 3:6, 15) imply a timelessness that is a part of the resurrection, where those who have died in the world yet live to God.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob belonged to different generations, yet all live in the presence and reality of God.  And this is an example from Christ Himself as to how we need to read and understand Scripture.  The experience of earthly life alone cannot supply us with the necessary insight for things we need to understand in our capacity for spiritual life and the nurturing of the soul, the turning to the higher things that take us forward and guide us into God's will for us.  God calls us not just to earthly concepts of justice but beyond that to mercy, to a right-relatedness that is not necessarily deserved, and to a life beyond this world.  Jesus teaches us to pray not that we impose our worldly understanding on God, but that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).  Contrary to the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, nor by most reports even the existence of angels, Christ points us to the saints who live and by whom we are surrounded (the "great cloud of witnesses" to which St. Paul refers in Hebrews 12:1), and from the beginning, the Church has understood that we also invoke the prayers of the saints as intercession, and we pray and worship together with the angels who worship in heaven, revealed in the vision of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3) and also in the Revelation.  Christ taught us that "where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).  Therefore we are to understand that the worldly life we live is permeated also with the spiritual, with the reality of heaven even in our midst, invoked in our prayers, witnessed by our faith, even revealed in worship.  A nominally successful worldly material life is not enough to teach us how to be successful faithful Christians nor to prepare us for the fullness of our faith.  For that we need more, we need the capacity to grasp the things that are given to us that are not simply material, but are necessary components for a deeper, richer life that fills the soul and can translate into a kind of order for the world in which our relatedness to all of creation, including to one another and to the blessings we have, is formed and shaped into something more than what is merely dictated by expedience or abstraction, but a substance of love that is present to us in the things that turn our minds and hearts to God.   There is an insight, and a fullness to life, that just isn't found elsewhere, a more full dimension to who we are and what we can be to which we are called.  Let us remember the disappearance of the Sadducees and consider how this might be related to a failure to hear and grasp the things that call us to a deeper life, which are not merely worldly or material, but which magnify our souls.  The material circumstances of the world and temporal life shift and change; there is one thing that anchors us midst the changes and helps us to transcend through them (Matthew 24:35).

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

- Matthew 22:15-22 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and spoke to the religious leaders in the Jerusalem Temple again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.  My study Bible comments on today's passage that the Pharisees' question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer will turn the people against Him, but  "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer is a defeat of their cunning; it shows also that a believer can render to the state its due while also serving God.  The coin Jesus displays in His answer bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him -- but so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  My study Bible makes clear that the things that are Caesar's and the things that are God's do not imply the division of a faithful person's life into the secular and the sacred.  Instead, God is Lord over all of life, which includes the secular.  We fulfill governmental requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (Romans 13:1-7; contrast Acts 4:19, 5:29).  Paying taxes and other civil duties are not detrimental to holiness. 

 

 The text makes clear that all belongs to God; everything in the world, which is created by God, is basically good, even "very good" (Genesis 1:31).  We pay taxes to our governments in order to run institutions which hopefully preserve the good, establish and organize community for preservation and protection, and hopefully for the welfare of the community and society.  It is ironic to consider that Jesus knows very well what is to come in Jerusalem, how He will die crucified by the Romans (even if it is at the instigation and plotting of the religious leaders who will also stir up the people).  But in Jesus' acceptance of the reality of "the things that are Caesar's" seems to be the acceptance of the necessity for human institutions, that they are not in and of themselves contrary to God, but that what belongs to God is our souls -- that first and foremost our lives belong to God.  Therefore, to be a part of God's creation is to seek God's way for our choices, the ways in which we use and organize the world, to be loyal first to God.  For the early Church, martyrdom would come for the espousal of this truth regarding the freedom of the soul to love and worship God before all else.  And continuing today there are still Christian martyrs, people who are targeted for death simply because they claim that freedom to worship God as followers of Jesus Christ.  The first organized genocide that set the pattern for what was to come later in the twentieth century took place against the Christians of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.  Many believers were martyred under political systems that penalized religion.  Today, violent religion-based extremists continue to attack with violence and murder Christian believers in organized ways in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa and across parts of the Middle East, where Christianity flourished in its early centuries.  Jesus set the pattern for faithful witness even through persecution, and today we remain as His followers.  But Christ's acceptance of the need for government to organize the world is important for us to understand in the context of our faith and our hearts; it shows clearly that our faith is to be lived even through persecution, and even where that persecution is not openly and violently present, we are aware that we live in a world where our faith teaches us not that everything is perfect, but that we are to endure -- and to endure means to endure in His commands, and awaiting His return, in living our faith.  In what will follow in the Gospel, Jesus will leave the disciples with that commend to endure, to follow His commands as we await His return.  In John's Gospel, He will leave one final, new command, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34).  Let us keep in mind that we live in a world that always needs governing, will always have civil authorities, and taxes to pay.   As we are part of a broader worldly community, we still need to "render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."  But our focus is on the one good part we know we must fulfill even as we live in this world, and therefore we continue to give "to God the things that are God's."

 

 

 

How is it that you do not understand?

 

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

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

 

- Mark 8:11–21 

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

 

For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt

 

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into that fire that shall never be quenched -- 

"where

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --  

"where 

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- 

"where

'Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.' 

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 

- Mark 9:42-50 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise on the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

 

  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."  Jesus continues His discussion with the disciples from yesterday's reading (above).  He was responding to their debate between themselves over who would be greatest in the kingdom they believed Jesus was going to establish, a worldly kingdom such as was popularly expected with the coming of the Messiah.  His teachings to them in response were about what kind of stewards and leaders He will want in His church, with the keyword for these teachings being humility.  He took a little child to Himself, and taught that if they receive even a little one in His name, they receive Him, and by receiving Him, they receive the One who sent Him.  My study bible comments here that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.  Here Jesus begins to give severe warnings to the disciples about possible abuses of power and authority in the Church, and the severe consequences that await such behavior.

 

 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into that fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --  where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' "   Jesus gives a similar teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:29-30), where He uses the image of an offending eye or hand to teach against adultery (that is, gazing upon with covetousness or reaching out for that which is inappropriate to oneself).  Here, Jesus teaches the disciples -- again, those who will become the stewards and bishops of His Church -- that the hand, or foot, or eye which causes one to sin is better cut off.  These are metaphorical images, as in the Sermon on the Mount, for our own impulses which cause unrighteous behavior, that which abuses power and authority especially over the "little ones" who are the humble in the Church.  A hand may reach out for that which does not belong to oneself, an eye covets what is inappropriate, a foot may tread with disrespect and trespass across proper boundaries.  These are all warnings against abuses of power and inappropriate behavior which disrupts peace within a community.  My study bible says that the references to mutilation are illustrative of decisive action to avoid sin, and -- obviously -- do not advocate for literal amputation.  These teachings also apply to harmful relationships which need to be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26, 1 Corinthians 5:5).  The repeated quotation and warnings of hell and fire are from Isaiah 66:24.

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."   To be seasoned with fire means to be tested to see if one's faith and works are genuine, according to my study bible (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).  When Jesus says that every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt, He is quoting Leviticus 2:13, in which salt stands for the remembrance of God's covenant with God's people.   The reference to peace with one another is clearly pointing to the commandments which are made to keep peace in community, and His commands regarding doing all one can do to refrain from trespass against one another and abuses of power.

Jesus writes about the need to identify and to take decisive steps regarding our own failures to live up to His commandments, His word.  If we couch ourselves in that basic understanding of God as love (1 John 4:8), then we come to accept and to understand that the commandments of Christ are made from love:  they are given to us from love, and to build love, and to create love among one another.  It is in this context that we must understand Christ's teachings, as they come to us regarding how we use what power and authority we have, and especially in our behavior toward one another.  It's also important to remember that these teachings are given to the disciples -- the Twelve -- who will be the leaders and pillars of His Church, those who will shepherd His flock and become His bishops.  His teachings really apply to every single one of us who are His followers, but here He is particularly responding to the disciples' desire for greatness, for position, for authority in a worldly sense.  He first instructs them on being servants to all, and teaches humility (see yesterday's reading, above).  But today's reading focuses on a rigorous self-discipline, on the need to identity one's own proclivities toward "bad behavior" within community, especially abuses of power and authority over and against the little ones.  A hand or foot or eye can go where it is not wanted, where it causes abuse or disruption of community, committing sin against another.  These are Jesus' gravest warnings.  The dire warnings against hell and an eternal fire should not be lost upon any of us.  If one finds a stumbling block in a seeming contradiction between a God of love who preaches and teaches love, and whose commands are for loving relations within community -- and the warnings about hell and fire, then one must consider the teachings we find in the Gospels, and especially references to fire.  That is to say, Jesus gives us His own framework for this understanding in today's reading, where fire is an image of the Holy Spirit -- which is both a testing energy and one that leads and teaches and brings justice and mercy.  One must think of fire as a test in the sense of traditional testing of metals for purity; that which burns away is not the pure gold.  It is that fire in which we stand, with which we commune, and which can work within us, that helps to burn away all the things that keep us from being active living agents of God's love and those commands of love.  To cut away a foot or hand or eye is to find a way -- by any means necessary in the terms of Christ's dire exhortations -- to live and dwell within that fire and not to be consumed.  In Luke's Gospel, St. John the Baptist says of Christ, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16).  Jesus says, also in Luke's Gospel, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49).  The warnings about fire must be taken in this context:  that it is the very fire of God who is love that will burn away the things that are not love in us.  Thereby is our baptism of fire, and the fire Christ says He came to send on the earth, and they include our own need to put aside that which is not compatible with love in ourselves.  This work, in short, requires our cooperation and actions.  Christ's words call us to a kind of self-responsibility that says that we are  not pawns of life, nor hopelessly subject to the ill influences we might find in the world.  We are not simply slaves to worldly patterns of abuse and selfishness and exploitation and their endless repetition in us, but we are called to something much, much greater and with a grandeur and stature in God's service.  He has said, in yesterday's reading, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Our greatness is found in our capacity for humility, self-discipline, a willingness to become the true person in the image to which Christ calls us, fashioned in the fire of His love and His commandments of love.  We are given the fire of the Holy Spirit to help us along the way, but it is our own awareness of what we're to be about that is also necessary to this journey, and the direction toward which we set our face.  We will all be seasoned with this fire, and the salt of our covenant with Him is in every sacrifice we make for the sake of His love.

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

Peter Paul Rubens, The Tribute Money, ca 1612.  Legion of Honor Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. 

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

 In Luke's Gospel, we are now reading through the events of Holy Week.   As He taught in the temple daily, He was questioned by the scribes and chief priests and elders of the temple as to His authority for His ministry and preaching.  Yesterday we read that He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.   If we look at yesterday's reading, we see that Jesus has just told a parable against these rulers of the temple, even a threat -- that the owner of the vineyard will destroy the vinedressers and give the vineyard to others (see the parable in yesterday's reading, above).  It is clearly understood by these rulers that it was told against their leadership, and in the public hearing of the people.  So they begin to plot against Him.  Their plan is to find a way to deliver Christ to the power and authority of the governor; that is, the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate.  We could surmise that because of the people and their feelings toward both John the Baptist and Jesus as holy men, these rulers do not want to have Jesus' death on their hands in an obvious way.  So they seek to "set Him up," so to speak, in a way that will have the Roman state execute Him.

Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?  This is a question which is designed to trap Jesus.  Taxation was compulsory to the Roman state.  If Jesus answers "Yes" then it would turn the people against Him.  If He answers "No" it will bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer, according to my study bible, defeats their cunning and also shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin which Jesus demands be shown bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study bible says, when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

The painting shown at the top of today's reading and commentary is called "The Tribute Money."  It is by Peter Paul Rubens, and was painted on or around the year 1612.   Since 1944, the original has hung in the Palace of the Legion of Honor, one of the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco, California.  I first saw it in the vestment room at the California Mission in Carmel, California, just off the beautiful Basilica, which also is a shrine to St. Junipero Serra.  Each time I return to this beautiful Mission I am struck by the painting, and it intrigued me more every time I saw it.   Clearly it is a copy, but I wondered why it was there and who put it there.  There is a beautiful icon, Byzantine in origin, of Mary the Mother of God, titled in the Roman Catholic tradition Our Mother of Perpetual Help.  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, this icon is titled Theotokos Amolyntos.  Theotokos in Greek means "God-Bearer."  Amolyntos means "without taint" or "spotless" indicating her purity.  In the Eastern tradition, it is an icon of the Passion.  (Here is an interesting history of the tradition of this icon.)   A beautiful icon in a passage right next to the Basilica is something marvelous to contemplate and to pray with.  But entering into the vestment room, and turning around, one sees above the door the painting of Rubens.  Each time I visited the Mission I pondered why it was there.  Certainly in their role as missionaries, the mission fathers must have struggled with the demands of the Spanish state and military, especially as regarded their charges, the Native Americans of California.  And therein one can understand the reminder, as the priest prepared himself in the vestments for services, of the depth of choice that was always standing before them.  To whom does the soul belong?   What are the things that are Caesar's, and what are the things that are God's?  This no doubt was a clear struggle for these men of God who also had to work with the demands of the state -- including the demands for taxes, whatever the productivity of the missions.  I am no expert on this history, but I think the painting gives us a hint of the struggles of the mission fathers.  Since it appears now just above the door inside the vestment room, one presumes it was there for the private contemplation of the priest, the struggle in his own mission for those who were in his care.  The long turbulent history of colonization -- even across the world and in and by various countries -- is a subject which holds this question wherever it has taken place.  In films and literature, we find a varied representation of the struggles of pastors for their flocks, and the demands of the state.  That would include varied denominations of the Church, and also varied states, languages, governing systems, and militaries, and on different continents.  (For fictional representations more or less based on history one can read a novel from Nigeria, titled "Things Fall Apart," by China Achebe; or view a film called "The Mission" set in South America.)  Many modern, or one might say fashionable, political theories are quick to dismiss the sincerity of the Spanish mission fathers, but I am not one who ascribes to such thinking.  I am inclined to believe that theirs was a mission of faith and self-sacrifice for the love of God and love of their charges -- and also that their conflict with the demands of the state was real. Eventually, the missions would be secularized, and put under complete control of the military.   This was also not unusual for many colonies of different origin.  But this question Christ asks remains real for all of us now as well.  Then and now, the struggle between the demands of the state and our loyalty to and love of God remains with us.  Christ posed this question in this way not simply to defeat the machinations of those who wanted to entrap Him, but in order to expose the deeper layers and complexities of life in the world, life for His Church, and for those who would follow.  How are we in the world, but not of it?  How do we care both for our own souls and for the souls of others, and make decisions accordingly?  Everything belongs to God, for all of life is a gift of God, but where do our duties to the state lie, and where do they end?  I was grateful to see this painting at the mission, and understand the struggles of the fathers.  The state and its organization may change with the times and the place, but the struggle for faith remains the same, even as the demands of our secular communities and governments will change and differ from place to place and time to time.  Let us also, like the fathers, remember this question every day.