On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"   And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.  

 

- Matthew 22:34–46 

 

Yesterday we read that, on the same day that the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus with a question about paying Roman taxes, 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 multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 

  But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  My study Bible comments that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and they debated constantly about which one was central.  Here Jesus sets forth the first and the second, which together constitute a grand summary of the Law.  Although this lawyer has come with malice to test Jesus, we know from St. Mark's account of this story that he is converted by Christ's answers (Mark 12:28-34).  My study Bible expands further on the second commandment given by Jesus that it must be understood as it is written; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  More clearly stated, it would read, "as being yourself."  It's often misunderstood to mean "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," which effectively destroys the force of the statement.  How much we love ourselves isn't the standard by which Christ calls us to love others.  My study Bible says that we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  As the Church Fathers teach, we find our true self in loving our neighbor.  In St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus offers these two commandments to a lawyer who asks Him about attaining eternal life.  The law then follows up with a question, "And who is my neighbor?" to which Jesus replies by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37).

 

 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"   And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.   My study Bible notes here that Christ asks this question in order to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God Incarnate.  They supposed the Messiah to be a mere man, and so they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is therefore that He is a descendant of David only according to the flesh -- but is also divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  My study Bible adds that the Pharisees are unable to answer any further because they realize the implications, and they fear to confess Jesus to be the son of God.  In the psalm verse quoted by Jesus, the answer is that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  

 

 The commentary on today's reading found in my study Bible invites us to think more deeply about Christ's second commandment listed here.  That is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  The two commandments which Jesus cites here, putting them together as that upon which hang the whole of the Law and the Prophets (that is, the Scriptures known to the Jews at that time), are Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18.  Let us remember that the one who questions Christ here is called a lawyer in the text; that is, he is an expert in the Law, in the commandments of the Scriptures.   The full verse of Leviticus reads as follows:  "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  So, it seems important to note in this context that the first part of this instruction is a command to refrain from vengeance against "the children of your people."  Its thrust and purpose seems clear; that is, it is meant as a command to refrain from dissension and violence within the community.  We know this is a central problem in the Old Testament, the world having descended from the first sin mentioned in Genesis to the evil of Lamech, who bragged to his two wives in a song as follows:  "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me.  If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold" (Genesis 4:23-24).  Of such importance was this growing cycle of vengeance that in the time of Lamech's son, Noah, God would decide to flood the world and start over, preserving the lineage of one "who found grace in the eyes of the Lord" and who was "a just man" "who walked with God" (see Genesis 6:5-13).  God's entire emphasis after that, in creating a people via Abraham's faith (accounted to him as righteousness), who would be led by Moses and through him given the Law, was to create a community in the image God desired.  So, there we come to the prohibition against vengeance and its terrible effects upon community. To love neighbor as oneself, as my study Bible explains, is to know others as "the children of your people;" that is, as one like yourself.  It's most important, in considering today's reading and this commandment, that we consider the story of the Good Samaritan as Christ's response to the question, "And who is my neighbor?"  The lawyer's answer in that passage is that "the one who showed mercy" was neighbor to the other, and Jesus' command follows:  "Go and do likewise."  If we look carefully at that story of the Good Samaritan, we may conclude that this command to show mercy is one in which we are willing to take the first step, the initiative, in being a neighbor.  The first commandment given here teaches us not just to follow or even to have faith and believe, but to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  This establishes the most basic relationship that defines who we are, for in loving God in such a complete way, we wholeheartedly love Love itself (1 John 4:8), and through a depth of drawing toward union with God, we learn love from God.  Let us endeavor, wherever we are, to create the community that God wants from us, learning to follow these commandments, and to be the kind of neighbor God wants us to become.

 

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury

 

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

"Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.

 

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who  desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."

 

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.   Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 

- Mark 12:35–44 

 

In our present readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into the city, and for several days answered questions and taught in the temple.  Yesterday we read that one of the scribes came, and having heard Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

 

Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  We begin with an understanding that He continues to address the scribe to whom He was speaking at the end of yesterday's reading (see above).  My study Bible suggests that He asks this question to lead the scribe to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  It notes that the scribes supposed the Messiah to be simply a man, and therefore in this sense he is the Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110 (from which Jesus is quoting here), David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  So, therefore, logic concludes, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh (as is Jesus), but is also truly divine, sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  We are to understand in this Psalm that the LORD is God the Father, and my Lord is Christ the Son.  Note how St. Mark tells us the common people heard Him gladly.

 

 Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  In St. Matthew's chapter 23, we can read Jesus' extensive criticisms of the practices of the Pharisees and scribes.  Here in St. Mark this shorter set of verses nevertheless encapsulates Jesus' great and most scathing criticism:  their hypocrisy, the gap between what they preach and what they practice, hiding behind an appearance of great piety their greed and predatory practices upon the poor and weak.

 

 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.   Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."  My study Bible says that, according to patristic commentary, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  So the poor widow is therefore counted to have given a great gift, having kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty for themselves are counted by God to have given very little.  In the conversion of Cornelius, we learn that God takes note of our giving (Acts 10:4). 

I recently had occasion to consider this story of the poor widow who gave so much into the treasury.  This was because of a fundraising occasion in which I had the privilege of seeing various donations given.  I was most extremely impressed because people whom I knew to be on a limited and fixed income, of not much means, had given -- like the poor widow in today's reading -- very generously out of what they had.  This was a powerful impression, not least of which because it brought to mind Christ's story in today's reading.  There is something overwhelming to the realization of how incredibly generous the poor can be.  Among the people who comment on matters of our faith around the internet I have had occasion to see several articles in which this experience of the generous poor is noted.   If we but look around, we will find such truly gracious behavior and experience.   Once upon a time, as a very young person, I was stuck in my car by the side of the freeway, with a broken clutch cable, two days before Christmas.  As the traffic poured by, it was remarkable to note the people who stopped to offer help.  Most were quite obviously on the poor side of the economic spectrum and all the offers of help were sincere.  There is a tremendous lesson to be taught in that whatever it is we have to offer, we have the ability to do so in a similarly generous manner.  If one is pressed for time, but someone needs your attention, taking that time to do what is compassionate for another is a generous and fine gift, and it is God who will take note of the gracious behavior God asks us to imitate.  Perhaps what we have to give is effort to a project, even at a time we feel overwhelmed or exhausted.  But our effort becomes a potential for a most generous and gracious expression of ourselves, of which the Lord will truly take notice, because we do so in imitation of Him.  Of course we remember that Jesus Himself shows us the greatest gift of all in giving His life for all of us.  As He said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Therefore I write that such generous gifts are beautiful in their imitation of Christ the Lord Himself.  There have been more occasions than I can count in which I experienced the tremendous generosity of those who had far less than I, and who yet offered me help of one sort or another without reservation, simply to help.  Such gifts seem divinely inspired as they reveal the true gem of good inside of a person, even, if you will, their love of God showing in the act.  In yesterday's reading Christ taught us about the two greatest commandments, to love God and to love neighbor as oneself.  In so doing, we reveal the blessedness of gracious life.  Sometimes if we pare down life to what is truly essential, it can help us to see what is truly great and gracious.  And in those "little ones" whom Christ so loved, especially among the humble, we might find what it is to be greatest.

 

 

 

Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly

 

Caravaggio, The Crucifixion of St. Peter.  Circa 1600, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!"  Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

 

- Luke 22:52-62 

 

 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.  

 

  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  Especially in John's Gospel, we get images of light corresponding to Christ, to God, and to the power of God working within and through human beings.  Darkness here is symbolic of all that rejects that light.  My study Bible refers us to Christ's words to Nicodemus:  "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:19-21).

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!"  My study Bible comments here that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  It notes that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when women are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  

Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.  My study Bible notes that Peter is so overcome with fear that neither the prediction of Jesus at the Last Supper (Luke 22:34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  Only the gaze of the Lord causes him to weep bitterly.  Nonetheless, comments St. Ambrose of Milan, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

If we take St. Ambrose's commentary seriously, we understand him to be saying something profound about human tears.  It is frequently asserted within Orthodox spiritually and the monastic tradition that tears are the surest sign of repentance.  No doubt this is drawn at least partially from this memorable example of St. Peter and his bitter tears.  But psychologically, we can also understand something deeper about the nature of tears and the state of our being:  tears frequently are a sign of truth being told.  Often, in popular culture, one may see a recording of a person purporting to confess repentance for something, and people will point out that they see no tears, even though one may see what is meant to be understood as crying.  Moreover, even if it is not a personal sin being repented, but a recollection of something true that happened which gave birth to some form of trauma, or a difficult truth is being faced and told, tears will also make their appearance -- giving once again witness to truth.  There are times when tears will accompany a recognition of great joy, overwhelming beauty, or transformational change for which we are deeply grateful.  In each case, the tears form themselves as involuntary witnesses to truth being recognized.  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, prayer ropes are used for the repetition of the Jesus Prayer.  These will frequently have tassels attached to them; it is said that the tassel is for the wiping away of the tears of repentance.   But let us focus on St. Peter and his bitter tears of repentance, for these are the way that St. Peter has come to terms with himself, and with his own failing as he has come to know it.  To understand it truly, we have to reread Luke 22:31-34, the verses that tell us about his interaction with Jesus.  Jesus first warned Peter -- on behalf of all of the disciples -- that Satan wanted to "sift" them "as wheat."  But He said to Peter, "I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  Peter's response was to declare to Jesus, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  In today's reading, Peter comes to recognize not simply his failure to live up to these words, but his own unawareness of himself and his own weaknesses.  Far from this image he no doubt had of himself at the time, in this experience he is defeated even by the gaze of a servant girl, and denies being a follower of Christ three times.  The bitterness of the tears is the truth of his recognition of himself, including the weakness Christ fully recognized when He admonished all of the disciples -- and particularly Peter -- to pray so as not to fall into temptation.  The truth we are given here in the Gospel of Luke, however, is not just about Peter, but about all of us.  How often do we disappoint ourselves with weakness?  How do we come to terms with the recognition of our own sad failings, even as we wish -- and even if we believe -- we are different?  Our faith does not task us with the impossible, but serves us here in the Gospel and elsewhere where this story is recounted the truth about who we are as human beings, and about those who would go on to become truly great in their full service to Christ.   Ultimately, we do not know the full history of St. Peter's life.  In one apocryphal tradition, the story of St. Peter's death is one of crucifixion -- and in his humility, asking to be crucified upside down, not considering himself worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Christ.  In this understanding, the man who bragged and failed had become humble indeed, and fully heroic in his humility.  It is a teaching for us all in the image of this man who would become a leader among the disciples, that it is ultimately his repentance and humility which made him great.  At the Last Supper, Jesus taught the disciples that "he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves" (Luke 22:26).  At the end of John's Gospel, Jesus prophesies Peter's eventual death by first telling him, "Feed My Sheep.  Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish," adding, "Follow Me" (John 21:17-19).  In today's reading, Peter's bitter tears teach us about this lesson learned, and it is one for each of us.

 

 

 

 

Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had

 

 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

"Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"

Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

 

- Luke 20:41-21:4 

 

 In our current readings, it is Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' life.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and has been questioned by the leadership in the readings of this past week.  Yesterday we read that some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

 

And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  Jesus poses an important Scriptural question, one that involves both the idea of Messiah or Christ, and also a question of authority (such as has been posed to Him in Monday's reading).  The passage He cites is from Psalm 110:1.  My study Bible tells us that, to understand this question, we must know that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  It says that the key to fully answering this question is that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.  

Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  In Matthew's Gospel, these statements are part of a longer narrative by Christ regarding the scribes and Pharisees, how they use their authority (Matthew 23:1-36), and particularly focuses on their hypocrisy in so doing.  Here we get the focus on hypocrisy of these teachers of the law to the people.  They treasure the signs of their authority and position:  the long robes, formal greetings in the marketplaces before the public, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, designating honor.  But as guardians of the Scripture and its meaning they fail to live what they preach, for they devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  The greater condemnation which Christ pronounces upon them comes as a result of their hypocrisy.  This passage is important for all of us who call ourselves Christians, because it is an emphasis on the power of faith motivating how we live and what is in our hearts.  In another context, Jesus has taught the disciples about being a light to the world.  He said to them, "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."  We can bring that statement to mind here as well.  (See in context Luke 8:16-18.)

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."  The example of this poor widow chosen by Jesus magnifies His teaching on hypocrisy, as He shines a light on her as an opposite example to the powerful who hold significant positions that allow them to use wealth and cover the condition of their hearts.  My study Bible comments that according to patristic commentary, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  In this light, the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, having kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty back for themselves are counted by God to have given very little.  

Jesus' example of the poor widow magnifies the problem of hypocrisy for us, shines a light on it in terms of how we view public appearance.  We can contrast the hypocrisy of the scribes noted just before by Jesus, and look at the poor widow as she puts her two mites into the treasury.  The word translated as "mite" is λεπτον/lepton in the Greek of the text.  It was the smallest currency at that time.  According to one analysis, at roughly the time of the writing of the Gospels, it was worth 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius was a day's wage for a common worker.  In terms of today's money in a modern economy, these two "mites" constitute a tiny amount of money, a fraction of a single cent or smallest unit of currency.  But as my study Bible points out, the amount of money is not what is important here.  What is important is the contrast between the hypocrisy of the scribes which Jesus points out, and the thorough heartfelt gift of this poor widow, who gives literally all she has.  What this teaches us about is how God looks at gifts and giving.  When Samuel the prophet was sent to anoint a king, a son of Jesse, the youngest son David was not the one he expected God would choose.  But Samuel was told that "the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).  What Jesus shows us about this widow is what the view is from the heart, that she gave all she had.  While we may not all be expected to hear this story and donate all our livelihood to the Church, we are expected nonetheless to give our all to God.  That is, if we really follow the teachings of Christ, we know that He has taught that the two greatest commandments, that sum up all the Law and the Prophets are as follows:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27, in which Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).  This widow shows that her love of the Lord is complete in the sense that the commandment gives, with all her heart, soul, strength, and mind.  Moreover, to love like that is to give as she gives, and there are many ways to give our all.  Can we help a neighbor?  Do we turn to someone in distress and ask if we can help?  Most of all, it seems to me, we can set aside our time to help others in all kinds of ways, whatever ways we have resources and skills to do.  We can donate our care, our skill, our concern.  A simple phone call might make all the difference to one person, a prayer may be what we can give for another.  And of course there are many ways to donate our wealth.  Sometimes an apology is a great gift, as is repentance and forgiveness.  We should note that the text points out many wealthy people giving money to the treasury, and Jesus contrasts those people with this poor widow.  As we often cite in our commentary, we should remember Christ's parable of the sheep and the goats, and the byword of compassion that constitutes the kind of giving favored in judgment (see Matthew 25:31-46).  That parable of judgment is all about giving, but it is a particular kind of giving, one that comes from the compassion to fill a need, to restore, to truly help.  So let us look around in our world and consider what we can give and how we can give.  God gives us minds creative enough to consider how to give in ways that make a difference, to do so even with subtlety if necessary that will not embarrass or shame those in need, and the sensitivity to truly observe as Christ does, even simply to listen and look and pay attention to a hurt or address a form of suffering.  In whatever way we can give, let it be first understood as a gift to God, wholly and freely given, for this is also what Christ teaches in the parable of judgment in Matthew 25, cited above.   For what we give to God first with our whole heart can then be shared with others, asking God's blessing to know where and how we're needed, and where and how God calls us to those in whom we may behold the face of Christ -- for this is what it truly means to give (Matthew 18:10, 25:40).

What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?

 

 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand, 

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

 

- Matthew 22:41-46 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read Jesus' explanation to His disciples of the parable of the Sower:   "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  Our readings of this week prepare us for Ascension Day, otherwise known as the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, which is celebrated tomorrow in the West, and one week from tomorrow in the Eastern Churches, generally speaking.  It is dependent upon the date of Easter, as Christ's Ascension took place forty days after His Resurrection.  Today's reading jumps to Matthew chapter 22, when Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem, engaged in disputing with the religious leadership.  Here, my study Bible explains, Christ asks this particular question, quoting from Psalm 110, to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  They believed the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone was "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1 (from which Jesus quotes here) David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  So, therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine, sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Therefore the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, and the term my Lord refers to Christ.  The Pharisees, my study Bible says, do not answer because they realize the implications and are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God.  

From our present day vantage point, we might be tempted to think that what Jesus points out about the psalm is scandalous to the Pharisees.  But the scandal is in suggesting that He Himself is this figure.  At the time of Christ, there existed literature from within the Second Temple period (560 BC - 70 AD) in which these terms from Scripture had been explored as to why there would be different words or references, implying different persons, but which all clearly applied to God.  So the idea that the concept of God could include more than one divine Person already existed within Jewish religious scholarship.  But perhaps there is nowhere but in this passage (see also Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44) where this concept is expressed so elegantly.  This is Christ's way, and it is one reason why it is to the Scriptures we turn for inspiration:  there is nowhere one can find eloquence which is both simple and profound at the same time to the extent that we have in the words of Jesus -- nowhere else where concepts of such depth and complexity are given to us in language so succinct, so evocative, and yet precisely to the point.  This is one reason why we continue to turn to Christ and to the Gospels.  As St. Peter said on behalf of the rest of the disciples (and the rest of us believers and faithful), "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (see John 6:66-69).  It is here that, through the Scripture of the Old Testament, and specifically in this particular reference, this psalm of King David, Jesus elegantly presents us with the mystery of who He is, both God and man, human and divine.  He will also refer to Himself by the title "Son of Man" which is found in the apocalyptic literature of Daniel 7:13 to refer to "one like the Son of Man" who is suggested in context as another divine Person, and who appears together with the Ancient of Days.  But here, Jesus, a physical human descendant of King David (Matthew 1:1-17), is also "my Lord" to David.  This is the root and heart of what is called Christology, our understanding of just who Jesus Christ is, and it informs all of our understanding about what He does in the world and His mission to us.   As noted above, soon we are celebrating the Feast of the Lord's Ascension, which comes forty days after His Resurrection.  And all of this is essential to our understanding of what the Ascension means, how in both His humanity and divinity, Jesus ascends to His place in heaven "at the right hand of the Father" (Creed; see also Acts 7:55–56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:11-15).   We look to this understanding of who Christ is in order to have a better understanding of ourselves and what He might ask of us.  For His work goes on in the world, and in us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood

 

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 

- Mark 12:35–44 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was disputing with the various members of the Council in the temple, one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that Jesus had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

 

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  My study Bible tells us that Christ asks this question to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  They supposed the Messiah would be a mere man, and therefore reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.   In Jesus' quotation from Psalm 110:1, my study Bible explains, the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  David therefore refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The one possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, yet is also truly divine, sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  In Matthew's report of this event, the Pharisees cannot answer, as they realize the implications and are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 22:41-46).  Indeed, this puts an end to their questioning.  Mark gives us the perspective of the common people who listen to these disputes in the temple, who heard Him gladly. 

Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Matthew reports an extensive final public sermon by Jesus, a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:1-39).  Here in Mark, these words are reported, which are at the heart of the teaching.  Whichever Gospel we read, at this point, Jesus has gone on the offensive, with His teachings before the common people a critique of the ways of the leadership, and especially their hypocrisy, their desire for superior places in the society, love of money, and lack of sympathy for the poor.

 

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."  My study Bible comments that, according to the patristic tradition, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  Therefore the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, having kept nothing for herself.  It says that those who give out of their abundance, but keep plenty back for themselves, are counted by God to have given very little.  In the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10:4), we learn that God takes note of our giving.  But, it appears to me, Christ's noting of the poor widow is an important and essential marked contrast to the religious leadership, whom He's just criticized for their love of money and social superiority.   Once again, He is teaching the disciples an important lesson about humility, and clearly this episode is one they will remember for their own leadership as bishops and stewards of His Church.

Jesus' notable teaching regarding the poor widow is a remarkable contrast to the conduct of the scribes He describes and criticizes.  We can assume that this kind of conduct was "normal" and even acceptable, to be expected.  After all, it is not so strange to us in our own time, and even from our own history of the Church, regardless of which kind of experience we have had.  But it is a significant and important contrast historically for important reasons we should recognize about our faith.  According to a professor of history, who specializes particularly in the first millennium after Christ and Byzantine history, the one thing that Christianity brought into the ancient world that no other faith emphasized was humility.  For the ancient world, a "great" man was one who dominated and conquered.  To put this in context, Caesar's claim to greatness was in open bragging about how many he had killed and enslaved, how much he had conquered.  In the early centuries of Christianity, it was derided as a religion "of women and slaves."  There is nowhere else in all the philosophies and ways of life the ancient world offered where humility was praised as a virtue.  And yet, Christ keeps coming back over and over again to this for His disciples.  It is the way they must conduct their Church, and the way they must see themselves as "great."  (See, for example, this reading, among others.)   In Jesus' responses over the course of this week, we see how the notions of community established within Judaism contain within them the seeds of Christ's teachings, especially in His combination of the two great commandments of which He spoke in yesterday's reading, and the clear comprehension of the scribe who questioned Him, and to whom He responded, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But possibly the greatest gift that Jesus gives us in today's reading is the gift of God's vision of people.  We understand that God looks at the heart, and that would include how we give even when we haven't much to give.  Moreover, what is clear from the illustration about this woman is just how much she loves God, and how dependent upon God she really is.  Under an image of her, we might really use the inscription "heartfelt," because that is truly what Jesus describes here.  Because, in the end, it is a mistake to simply see this woman as having made a generous monetary donation.  The true donation here is the gift of herself, of all of her heart and soul and mind and strength.  It is she who lives fully up to the words of the Shema' (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) which Jesus quoted as the first and greatest commandment in yesterday's reading, and coupled it with Leviticus 19:18.  For although her monetary gift is exceptionally generous, and we must count it so, one also must consider the other gifts she must give in service to God every day of heart and sympathy and prayers.  The great gift to us is that Jesus holds her up as the epitome of generosity, and in so doing, He teaches us about how God sees each of us, and what God sees about each of us.  Again, the seeds of this understanding are already present in the history of Jewish spiritual tradition, awaiting the fulfillment in Christ.  As Isaiah writes, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord.  'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).   These lines from Isaiah are found just before He cites God's words regarding giving "seeds to the sower" (who is Christ) and bread to the eater (also given by Christ), and God's word (who is also Christ the Logos) -- see Isaiah 55:10-11.  Combined with all of the other teachings we receive from Christ, this picture of the widow, indelible now in the minds of the apostles, is the greatest gift we have as to how God thinks of us and what God wants from us.  Let us endeavor to think like God, to look at others in the ways we know that God does, and to fulfill His commands and the vision He gives to us by honoring what God honors.

 

 

 

I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

- Luke 19:28-40

Yesterday, we read that Jesus spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.' "

  When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"    So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  Jesus makes His entry into Jerusalem.  It's a public picture or icon of the arrival of the Messiah into Jerusalem (which was prophesied to come from the East, Mount Olivet).  People are filled with certain expectations of the Messiah, particularly as political deliverer from the Romans, a nationalist hero and hope, a great warrior.  But this is a different kind of Kingdom that Jesus is proclaiming and everything that happens will go toward making that shockingly vivid picture that declares a radically different point of view of the Kingdom, that St. Paul will call "a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles."   In this passage, He instructs His disciples to get a donkey's colt, revealing aspects of this Kingdom:  He's not riding into Jerusalem as a great kingly warrior in a chariot, but on a colt, and furthermore His prescient knowledge of exact events to happen there tells us more about this Kingdom that is not confined to the worldly.

And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.   People spread their clothes on the road as a way of paying reverence to a King.  My study bible says this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh -- even our lives -- for Christ. 

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"   These are the ones who have been with Him through His ministry, and have followed Him on the road to Jerusalem.  They praise and rejoice for all the great works they've witnessed.  The praise they shout is from Psalm 118 (see verses 25 and 26) which was already associated with messianic expectation.   This was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  It is a further affirmation, a great picture or icon of the Messiah.

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."   Jesus vividly describes the exuberant joy in those who have witnessed His ministry with its many great wonders and teachings.  Many patristic commentators have made analogy to the stones of which Jesus speaks, negatively comparing the Pharisees who wish to silence these shouts to those who once worshiped idols of stone but repented, and to the murderers -- harder than stone -- who will also declare His name and His praise.   St. Ambrose cites the "living stones" referred to by St. Peter who will proclaim and praise after Jesus' crucifixion, while the Pharisees will be silent.   St. Ephrem the Syrian writes:  "At his birth and at his death, children were intertwined in the crown of his sufferings" (Commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron 118.2).

St. Ephrem the Syrian also notes on this passage that Jerusalem was in turmoil at Jesus' birth, just as it was in turmoil again and trembling the day that he entered it. So what we have, in addition to everything else in this picture or icon (if one will imagine it) is a world in which there are tremendous problems of what we call evil:  strife, violence, victimization, oppression, injustice of every kind, disloyalty to one another in community, disparate political movements including armed insurrectionists, and every form of chaos we can imagine that accompanies such problems.  And of course, we will read of the scheming, lying, and manipulation of the leadership as they calculatedly work with the Roman authorities in order to persecute Jesus.   In some sense, Jerusalem is like boiling pot, with a lid just barely kept on it, as people await something, someone, a deliverer from their national troubles.  But the leadership can't recognize this Leader who rides on a colt into Jerusalem.  He doesn't honor then or their authority in the same way that others do.  He speaks from His own authority.  And perhaps the greatest contrast -- and most maddening aspect to the leadership -- to their expectations, is the fact that Jesus' kingdom is "not of this world."  It is not an earthly Kingdom He proclaims, it is a mystical one, one that unites us through and through in the deepest parts of who we are, one that surpasses and expands all that we think of as "reality," and one that permeates and expands beyond all of it and everything we think we know.  This is what truly angers these leaders in resentment and envy, because they just haven't got it with them.  They don't have what He has.  They don't share the joy of His disciples.  They don't get it.  They are the true stones whose hearts are hardened from understanding and perception, while even the stones themselves on the road would shout for joy should the "children" be silent here.  It's a picture of our world as it is today, it's a picture of our lives when we share our own times in turmoil or grief or expectation or fear or anticipation or uncertainty and unknowing.  It's a picture of where we are when we fear things we don't understand and can't control.  It's a time and place -- at His birth and at His death, as St. Ephrem teaches us -- when every form of rumor abounds and the people live in a kind of darkness of unknowing, into which Jesus enters and stands in our midst, telling us of the Kingdom that is with us and within us and among us.  This is the picture or icon of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate on Palm Sunday.  We either want to be members of His Kingdom or we reject it.  But it's open to anyone who truly desires to enter.  He descends into the worst of what the world has to offer; this is a far picture from the paradise of the Garden.  And He offers to us His Kingdom, declaring to us the reality and power of the Lord, the manifestation of the Prophets, the embodiment of the praises of David.  He is here, with us, in our midst.  As human being, He is at birth the intended victim of a murderous rampage, and His death will be a gruesome sharing in the tortures and hideous form of murder a cruel and tyrannical world offers to its enemies.  He will go into the world of the dead to liberate them, He comes to us to liberate us, and He declares His mystical reality of His Kingdom which is present to us if we but choose to soften our hearts enough to perceive, if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, as He puts it.  Jesus has the power to make the stones cry out.  He has the power to break up our stony hearts.  But do we trust Him enough (the real root meaning of the Greek word for faith) to show us the way through a world with so much darkness in it?