You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve

 

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  

 

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,'

and, 

 'In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

 

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him,  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 

- Matthew 4:1-11 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are you coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water;  and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  My study Bible explains that to be tempted is to be tested in fundamental areas of faith.  As in St. Mark's Gospel, here Jesus is led up into the wilderness after His Baptism to be tested by a struggle with the devil (in St. Mark's Gospel, we're told that He was thrown or driven out by the Spirit; in Greek ἐκβάλλει).  My study Bible comments that we who are baptized in Christ need not be defeated by temptations because we too are aided by the Holy Spirit.  The wilderness forms a battleground, an image of the world, both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory. 

 

 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Jesus fasted to overcome temptation; according to my study Bible, in so doing, He gives us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  We are to note that Christ's hunger of His flesh doesn't control Him.  Rather, He controls His flesh.  Christ's fast of forty days is the foundation of the Church's forty-day Lenten fast before Holy Week and also a traditional fast before Christmas.  In the verses that follow, we read of the various temptations given by the devil.  In this contest or struggle, Jesus reverses Israel's falling to temptation in the wilderness.  My study Bible reminds us that the Israelites were tested forty years in the wilderness and proved disobedient and disloyal.  God humbled them by first letting them go hungry and then feeding them with manna to help them learn to be dependent upon Him (Deuteronomy 8:2-5).  In today's reading, Jesus is tested with hunger for forty days, and He does not sin.  All of His answers to Satan are from Deuteronomy, and they all call for loyalty to God.

 

 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  Note that the devil's temptation is to challenge Christ's relationship to the Father, the very thing revealed at His baptism in yesterday's reading, and the messianic secret for which He will be judged a blasphemer and be put to death.  If You are the Son of God calls into question that declaration by the Father (see yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible comments that the devil wants Jesus to act independently and to detach Himself from the will of the Father -- thus, destroying His mission.  According to my study Bible, in Christ's divine nature, He shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He can do nothing of Himself (John 5:30), apart from the Father.  But in His humanity, He possesses free will and at all times must choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father.

 

 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"   Jesus rejects the first temptation of the devil, thereby rejecting an earthly kingdom.  This shows us not to pursue earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27), my study Bible says.  It notes that while Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), the New Adam -- Christ -- conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3.

 

 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down."  The holy city is Jerusalem.  Once again, the devil is tempting Christ to reject His identity as Son and His loyalty and love of the Father.

 

"For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and,  'In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  As in the first temptation Jesus had defeated Satan through the power of the Scriptures, he vainly tried to use Scriptures here to put God's power of protection to the test (see also 2 Peter 1:19-21).  Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11-12.

 

 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  My study Bible comments that trials and temptations come on their own; we should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the LORD.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.

 

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"   Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.  My study Bible notes here for us that God's Kingdom is not one of earthly power and possessions.  In this test by the devil, Jesus is being asked to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.  (Note also how the devil mimics divine actions by being on an exceedingly high mountain; see, for example, Matthew 17:1-3.)  My study Bible comments that the devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  It notes that Jesus refuses the road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13.  Note also that in Greek, "Away with you, Satan!" reads literally, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  These are the same words Christ will use with St. Peter, when he suggests that Christ not go to the Cross (see Matthew 16:21-23).  

 

Jesus refutes every temptation of the devil with one central thing:  His loyalty and love of the Father.  More essentially, He does so by clinging to His real identity; He is the Son of  God, the Son of God the Father.   This, of course, is the one thing the devil attacks, consistently and repeatedly.  He begins the first two temptations with, "If You are the Son of God . . .."  Jesus' adherence to this identity, of course, is not the product of pride, of social life or a system of social values, nor is it something He inherited or was conferred upon Him at birth.  This is the spiritual reality of who He is, and occurs within the power of a fully loving and participating identity within the embrace of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  This is a divine reality, and His relations within it are relations of love and loyalty.  The devil makes his last appeal to Christ in a way that reveals what he really wants. He says, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  The devil wants to usurp God's place and the things that belong only to God.  He wants worship; He even wants Christ's worship and loyalty, which seems to indicate that he doesn't understand Christ the Son at all, and so continues to challenge Him.  But Jesus responds by turning the tables on the devil.  His words, "Away with you, Satan!" are more accurately translated, "Get behind Me, Satan," indicating who is really in charge here, whose authority must be followed.  Therefore in today's reading about temptation in the wilderness we are getting a sense of the true meaning of Christ's saving mission.  We must keep in mind that to be tempted is to be tested.  There is the devil, who is the "ruler of this world," and Christ who comes to claim it as the Son.  This is salvation, redemption.  So, what happens in this time of fasting in the wilderness is what we should understand as spiritual warfare, and in our own lives we also participate in that warfare.  As my study Bible indicates, the wilderness is a battleground, an image of the world, and we human beings are in the middle of it.   In the Lenten tradition of the fast, the Church makes it clear that we are also called into this struggle, with Christ, for we also are tested.  He shows us the way; He is the firstfruits in all ways, and we enter into His life.  In today's lectionary reading, we are also given the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20:1-21.  We often forget that the foundation of those commandments, and the first half of them, is the worship due only to God.  But Jesus never forgets that; it is His basic weapon with which He fights the devil in today's reading.  Let us also hold fast to what comes first.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight"

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, 

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  

'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  

 

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

 

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was  baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

- Mark 1:1-13

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Today, following the commemorations of Nativity and the Christmas season, the lectionary begins a new daily cycle with Mark's Gospel.  It is the shortest and most brief of all the Gospels, with events happening in quick succession.  My study Bible explains that the word gospel is in Greek εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion, which quite literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  This was a Greek word commonly used in the Empire at Christ's time, as it was used for proclamations and messages coming from the Emperor and setting out policies or declarations.  So, in that sense, this is the gospel of another kind of kingdom.  It does not refer to Mark's writings per se according to my study Bible, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, it says, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry.  That is, the preparation by Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Jesus' encounter with him.  

As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your   way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.   John's first quotation is from Malachi 3:1, and he is declaring himself to be this messenger sent by the Lord to prepare the way for the coming covenant.  The second quotation is from Isaiah 40:3, a message meant to comfort a people in captivity and desperate for redemption.   These quotations would have been understood in the context of the time and the history of Jewish spirituality to invoke those prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah, and were given to a people under the power of another historical empire.  But this gospel is not simply political nor historical, and neither is the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.  John preaches a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  As we can see from the response of people from all of Judea and Jerusalem, the very center of Jewish life, they come to the wilderness (a barren region from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea) to the Jordan to be baptized for repentance, and confessing their sins.  To repent in Greek is μετανοια/metanoia, which literally means "change of mind," and indicates a deep change of heart, a total reorientation of one's life.  Note it is accompanied by confession of sins, and baptism, to be followed by a life of fruits worthy of the change.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  The clothing of John the Baptist evokes yet another prophet, as he is clothed in the manner of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  This is an indication that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return before the Messiah, as prophesied in Malachi 4:5.  Note the humility of John the Baptist, whose life is dedicated to service of this coming Lord and His kingdom.  His life was the inspiration  and model for the monasticism that would develop in the early Church.  John prophesies the power of Christ and the divine nature of Christ's baptism to come.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was  baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Christ's Baptism by John was commemorated by the early Church on January 6th, together with Nativity.  In the Eastern Churches, Christ's Baptism is still commemorated on this day.  It is often called Epiphany (meaning "showing forth" or "manifestation") or Theophany, which means a manifestation of God.  Manifest here in these short verses in Mark is the Holy Trinity as witnessed, with the Spirit descending upon Christ "like a dove" and the Father's voice declaring from heaven God's beloved Son.  

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  We may read details of Christ's temptation by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.  In each case, Jesus is challenged regarding His identity as Son, and His loyalty to the Father.  Forty is a significant number, evocative of the forty years that Israel was tested in the wilderness, proving to be at times both disobedient and disloyal.  Christ's responses to Satan in Matthew and Luke come from Deuteronomy, and the story of Israel's testing.

We might wonder why Jesus needs to be tested, and that this testing immediately follows His Baptism and the appearance of the Trinity, including Christ's divine identity as Son.  We understand the confession of sins of the people who come from Judea and Jerusalem, and their desire to receive a Redeemer, the Messiah.  But why does Jesus need to be tested here?  Why does One who is essentially sinless (as we've been taught) need testing?  This tells us something essential about our own journeys in the world and the spiritual life.  It does not matter what one has already understood and endured with prayer; we will be called upon for greater growth, new testing, and an expansion of our faith on this journey.  Repentance and redemption are not simply one-time incidents, but rather constitute a pattern and a lifetime of the growth of faith and reliance upon God.  Just as Israel journeyed on the forty year trek in the wilderness, so Christ is here driven by the Spirit into the wilderness.  (In the Greek language of the text, He is literally "thrown" or "cast" by the Spirit into the wilderness.)   The testing is part of the journey, and notable for its emphasis on worldly ways of thinking that question God's providence, our capacity for faith in what doesn't necessarily make pragmatic material sense to us.  Christ's responses in Matthew and Luke are all powerful rebukes that emphasize loyalty to God, and they are meant to be an example to us for our own lives.  What is more important to us?  Is there something God wants to teach us?  Is there a road of faith, a deepening and growth of faith?  Are there things in our lives we need to reject or "change our minds" about?  Whatever the path of faith, it is clear that a reliance on God is a journey and a struggle for growth, not simply a mental declaration or signing up for the teachings of one group or another.  Faith is a much deeper kind of encounter, an entrance into what Christ will repeatedly call the kingdom of heaven in His teachings.  It is not just a way of life but a way of being in the world, an awareness that our lives hold so much more than the material alone.  As Jesus teaches in Luke's Gospel, this kingdom is within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).  He will say in John's Gospel, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), indicating to us that our faith is a "road" (the literal meaning of the word translated as "way"), and it is truth and life.  These words are not simple metaphors for a code or a set of values we ascribe to.  They denote the complete experiential reality of this lived faith which touches upon all of us and all that we perceive, including the struggles of we encounter.  There is nothing that is lost to this journey, nothing in which there is no hidden capacity for meaning or redemption, for this is truly the mystery of God -- that even at the Cross we may find our deepest faith and most powerful transformation and purpose in the redemptive power of Christ and the meanings we're given -- even the destruction of death and the transfiguring power of life in abundance, connecting us to what is eternal.  Let us follow this good news, this deepening power of faith, and open up to the confidence it may give us in a sense of who we are, and whom we are called to become, even as we walk through the challenges that meet us on the road of Christ.  The voices in the Gospel call to us from times past and all throughout history to prepare the way of the Lord.  Even the voices of the prophets echo to make His paths straight, for we do not journey on this road alone, but with the Lord, and with God's faithful.  That is and remains timeless, ever-present, if we are but mindful and awake to it.

If You are the Son of God

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,'

"and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

- Luke 4:1-13

Yesterday we read that as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  This exodus of Jesus into the wilderness is characterized by my study bible as having a dual symbolism.  It first of all fulfills the Old Testament type, in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its "baptism" in the Red Sea.  Second, it prefigures our own journey through the fallen world after baptism as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  We're met and faced with all of our own temptations as part of the struggle of faith.

And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  The "type" from the Old Testament continues here, with Jesus in a sense reversing Israel's falling to temptation in the wilderness.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:2-5, in which it is explained that the Israelites, who were tested forty years in the wilderness, first were allowed to go hungry and then were fed with manna to learn greater dependence upon God.  Jesus meets each temptation by the devil with quotations from Scripture.  My study bible tells us that this teaches us to become immersed in Scripture to resist and drive away temptation (see Psalm 119:11).   Jesus fasted in order to overcome temptation, which gives us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  His hunger doesn't control Him, but He controls His impulses.  Christ's fast of forty days is the foundation of the forty-day period of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting.  We note here the devil's challenge is regarding Christ's relationship to the Father, calling into question the Father's declaration at Jesus' Baptism ("You are My beloved Son" - see yesterday's reading, above).   This is an attempt to push Jesus to act independently of the will of the Father.   In His divine nature, Christ shares this will with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He can do nothing of Himself apart from the Father (John 5:30).  However, in His humanity Christ possesses free will as do the rest of us, and He must choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father.  Through His action, Christ reverses the fall of Adam.  He is the new Adam who, rather than sacrificing the word to follow the passions of the body (Genesis 3), conquers temptation by the divine word.  In so doing, He gives human nature the power to conquer Satan.

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"    Here the temptation for Christ is worldly authority, power, and glory.  Note that the devil says that all this authority has been delivered to him, and he gives it to whomever he wishes.  But he commands worship in order to secure the bargain.  Jesus reverses the order that Satan desires, telling him, Get behind Me.  He quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13.  My study bible notes that the devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), as the whole world is in his sway (1 John 5:19).  There is only one way to liberate the world from the "strong man" Satan, and this will happen through Christ's saving mission serving the Father (see Mark 3:22-27).

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  My study bible says that, seeing that Christ had defeated him through the power of the Scriptures, Satan vainly tries to use the Scriptures (Psalm 91:11-12) to put God's power of protection to the test.  (See also 2 Peter 1:19-21).  Christ quotes His response from Deuteronomy 6:16, again referencing the time of Israel's testing.  My study bible says that trials and temptations come on their own; we should not intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the Lord.  We note that the devil departs at this stage, but only until an opportune time.

How do your temptations come to you?  Jesus' experience during His time of testing lays out for us a basic understanding of the things that will tempt us to choose between submitting our own human will to God, and pursuing what really looks good to us -- or the things it seems that the world chases after.  We might take the first temptation at face value and suspect that it's just about food, but it really isn't at all.  The temptation is first of all about the relationship that Christ has to the Father.  The devil calls into question Christ's relationship to God, taunting, "If You are the Son of God . . ."   Just as my study bible pointed out in yesterday's reading that we are all sons of God by adoption (male and female both), so that also applies here.  Are we truly the child of God?  Is God our Father?  Why then do we so often feel absolutely helpless, and worry that our prayers aren't answered properly?  These are temptations to drive us away from faith.  The next temptation in Luke's Gospel is also about power and authority, and its worldly glory.  We are all subject to the glories of the world, the great modern "kingdoms" as we look around ourselves at modern day trappings of wealth, empire, power, authority, and even worldly glory.  We can't possibly escape from it unless we unplug and move somewhere far away from a city or town.  But the question here isn't just about acquisition, it's about exchanging one God for another false god.  The devil promises Christ all of this worldly stuff of power and glory, but there's just one price:  Jesus will have to worship the devil.  And so we might find such a bargain offered us.  What do we put all our effort in life to serve?  What counts first?   "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," Christ says (Matthew 6:21), another warning that what we put first is what we serve and worship.  This is the way the human heart functions, whether we think so or not.  It is the heart of worldly temptation to give up that prime relationship to God, the basic choice we're offered.  The final temptation here in today's reading is again a questioning of that basic relationship to God, and starts with "If You are the Son of God . . ." once again.  But this time it's to test God's love for the Son, and may enter into our lives as a question about whether or not God really does love us.  Sometimes reckless behavior is simply that, a way to test God, to see if we'll be "saved."    But it's not our job to put God to the test.   Running as a thread through each temptation is the notion that God's Kingdom asks us to enter in a particular way, and does not work through the worldly understanding of power and glory.  The most holy among us may be the most humble (and quite often is) and not the persons we tend to admire for conspicuous achievement and position.  What we want and desire may have nothing to do with what God knows is truly best for us.  It's a question of exchanging one notion of kingdom and all that goes with it (power, glory, acquisition, place, esteem, security) for another, and putting our hearts into that choice.  Ultimately, we come up against a question of whether or not we know God's love for us, for surely that must lead the way in making the choice.  Who's going to love you best?  What feeds the heart?   To answer that question honestly may ask of us a great deal of sacrifice - even of worldly honor and approval in all possible forms.  For the stories of the early martyrs, that even meant the sacrifice of family and parental approval.  Are we willing to face that temptation?  Do we understand what a test is?  Jesus goes to the wilderness and fasts.  In His temptations, He's taken to a high mountain, and even the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem.  Whether your desert is in a canyon of Wall Street, the pinnacle of the most glorious building you know, or the high mountain of dazzling possibilities and dreams, we're all going to find ourselves at some time in this same place of testing.  How will we know how to choose but through the heart and God's love?  If someone asks you for worship as the price of a great worldly reward, think about Christ's choice.  Christ will defeat Satan through a sacrificial love, and so may we be called to do as well.

Of such is the kingdom of God

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  '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."    In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."   And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

- Mark 10:1-16

Yesterday, Jesus continued His teaching to the apostles after they had been disputing among themselves as to who would be greatest in the kingdom:  "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 the 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 god, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

  Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  '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."    In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."   The Pharisees test Jesus with an issue that was subject to debate in Jesus' time:  divorce.   (See Deuteronomy 24:1-4.)  In Jesus' teachings on marriage, He regularly condemns divorce.  This was in contrast to the easy access to divorce under Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce in His time.  Instead, Jesus' emphasis is on the spiritual and therefore eternal nature of marriage.  In Matthew's Gospel, a caveat is mentioned  ("except sexual immorality" - Matthew 5:32).   But let us pay attention to Jesus' words here; He specifically attributes Moses' allowance to hardness of heart.  Emphasizing the example of permanent monogamous marriage (as in Genesis 1, 2), divorce in this view is an allowance for human weakness.   Let us understand He is addressing men (women could not initiate divorce) and their treatment of women.  What is clear either way is that marriage, as a holy institution, can be destroyed by sin, by abuse.  In such cases, even in the early Church, divorce was permitted as corrective measure of compassion.   See also Malachi 2:15-16 as an admonition to men.

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."   And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.   It seems ironic that Jesus has just used the example of little children to say, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me" (Monday's reading), here the disciples rebuke the parents who bring the children to Christ.  Theophan comments that they were rebuked because the little children were "unruly" and because they thought that children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  Instead, Christ emphasizes that little children are an example of those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.  He provides the perfect example of His teaching in the earlier reading.

In all ways Jesus emphasizes the humility necessary for true leadership.  He is preparing the disciples for the time He will not be with them in the flesh.  Let us note this consistent teaching from the time He heard them disputing among one another regarding which ones would hold places of greatness in the material kingdom they believe is coming (see Monday's reading).  Although Christ has warned them twice that He will suffer and die, and rise on the third day, they still don't know precisely what that means.  In preparing them for the leadership of His Church, Jesus' great emphasis is on humility and service.  Here, the example of divorce also serves to prepare them with an understanding of gracious behavior that is meant to appeal to all -- and to all men in particular.  The nature of marriage as instituted by God becomes a question of the use of power in this example.  Should a wife be dismissed for failing to appeal in just any way, or is marriage meant to be more than that?   Marriage as permanent monogamous institution, in which "two become one flesh" is not simply a hierarchy of possessor and property, nor is it a question of material wealth nor simply a means to expanded family and standing.  It is holy, and the holiness is in the relationship of the two.  Clearly women were not only lower in social standing, rights, and capacity for power in the time of Jesus, but make careful note that Jesus' grace extends also to little children.  He gives us a way to see that is not based on a purely material perspective, but asks us to use the lens of spiritual understanding for our lives and conduct.  We're not seeing correctly with a "worldly" perspective.  The perspective that Christ adds is one that we call "gracious" now.  It is the command He gives us all for proper relation and understanding of the value of human beings.  That we are spiritual in origin and nature, of one whole with body, soul, and mind, gives us Christ's perspective on marriage and on relation to the little children who stand as examples of those who may enter the kingdom of God.  There is a continuity in this perspective, from the understanding of the true nature of marriage given in Genesis (reflecting our spiritual nature and creation by God) to the present day, when notions of human rights have expanded in light of cultural acceptance of Jesus' basis for the value of persons.  Let us honor fully our true natures with our lives as He has taught.

Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times

 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.

- Matthew 26:69-75

 In our current readings, it is Holy Week, and Jesus is in Jerusalem.  After the Passover meal at which Jesus instituted the Eucharist, Jesus and the disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane, where He was arrested by an armed crowd sent by the chief priests and elders, as He was betrayed by Judas.   And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  Peter's denial of Christ three times comes as the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy of the night before, at the Last Supper, after which Peter vehemently insisted that he would follow Christ even unto death before doing so (see Saturday's reading).  But here in the courtyard of the high priest, in the dark hours of very early morning, and while Christ is on trial, Peter denies Christ, first after a servant girl identifies him as one who was with Him.  Some interpretations of this story understand Peter's testing as deeply allegorical, with the servant girl representing the temptation of Eve to Adam (Genesis 3:6).  He denies Christ before those gathered there in the courtyard, perhaps representing the various forces that seek to deny Christ.  He goes out to the gateway, and another servant girl identifies him as a follower of Christ.  He denies more deeply, and with an oath this time.  Then in front of the others there, who cite his accent as one from Galilee,  Peter's denial is even more vehement, bringing curses upon himself, and immediately a rooster crowed, bringing remembrance to Peter of Jesus' word to him.  In Luke's Gospel, we're told that Jesus gazed at him (Luke 22:61).  My study bible cites Ambrose of Milan, who comments on Peter's bitter tears, that "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."  Origen notes that the tears come once Peter is outside of the courtyard, and as dawn breaks -- symbolically away from the forces of denial and in the place where light begins to shine.  

My study bible notes the testing of Peter coming via the servant girls in contrast with the renewal of life that will come when it is women who are the first to "hear, believe, and proclaim" the good news of Resurrection at the tomb.  What is important is the recognition of the difficulties of faith within a context of a familiar culture in which there are all kinds of temptations to be in denial of what we know spiritually.  Denial can come in all sorts of forms, some of them entirely innocuous in their "normalcy."  We do our every day tasks, and assume that life is separated between the spiritual and the "realistic" needs of day-to-day life.  But if we really look hard at the Gospels, we see that this isn't really meant to be the case.  The disciples spend all their time with Christ.  Every decision Jesus makes is prefaced by prayer, many times in withdrawal Himself even from the disciples.  We should be used to the idea that the "remembrance of God" isn't just reserved for special days, or for when we're in Church, but rather our days should be punctuated with time for prayer.  A silent prayer can be said at any time.  In fact, traditional practices, such as the Jesus prayer, are meant to be used all day, and during any kind of task.  This type of prayer uses a phrase that is repeated to oneself during tasks and daily work, and also in periods of contemplative devoted prayer.  The prayer takes different forms, but all are based on the phrase, "Lord have mercy."  An important component of this prayer when practiced is time put aside for prayer is silence:  there are periods when the silence is full, a communion.  But the phrase itself is ideal for repeating at any and all times.  Just as the disciples spent full-time with Christ, our prayer takes shape during any moment of our lives, and we don't have to separate out time into different parts:  one for spirit, one for body, one for soul, another for the mind.  Instead, we understand ourselves as integrated, with wholeness an image of the fullness of what it means to be a person.  In the words of the commandment to love God (what Jesus calls the first great commandment), we use "heart, soul, mind, and strength."  Peter's denial teaches us of the difficulties we face as part of our daily lives, when the pull of what is "normal" or habitual in a setting of society, culture, or other environment may draw us away from the inner truth we know for ourselves.  All traditional forms of worship and spiritual practice center around shoring up the strength of faith, and it is grace that is the great Helper we call upon because this is, indeed, the world we are born into.  There are all kinds of ways that we would deny Christ, whether that is to engage thoughtlessly in self-destructive practices, or forms of common behavior (such as gossip) that do harm to others and thereby our own souls, or to just "go along to get along."  Peter's emotional commitment to Christ that he would never deny Him, even if it meant death, gives us all a wake-up call, a warning, about the difficulties of spiritual life and struggle.  We can't simply depend upon our own emotional strength.  Life's temptations are unexpectedly difficult.  Particular environments and conditions can swamp us in ways we don't necessarily see or are prepared for.  We rely on mercy and grace, and we need to be aware of our own vulnerability.  Let us remember, also, Peter's bitter tears of repentance that "wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."   Peter will return to the disciples and to Christ, and become the apostle we know him to be.  Our lives are meant to be understood in terms of a journey that may be filled with struggles and tests we don't expect, coupled with mercy and love and joy.  Most important is the love and mercy which helps us to understand our weakness and difficulties, so that we may become strong.