The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few

 

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  

 

- Matthew 9:35—10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that two blind men followed Jesus, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

 

  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."   This phrase, like sheep having no shepherd, is similar to the language in Mark 6:34, which we read as a description of the crowd of 5,000 which Jesus will feed in the wilderness (see Mark 6:30-44).  Here the words weary and scattered describe the crowd, meaning that they were like those cast aside from the world, exhausted in their struggles.  In a sense, it's a description of those who are figuratively "homeless" -- like sheep having no shepherd, who need His good guidance and love, His compassion.  In yesterday's commentary, we remarked upon Christ's gathering of the outcast, the poor in spirit, the outliers in some sense.  Here the description of these people exemplifies those to whom He has come to extend His care, His church.  His comment,  "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" teaches us that this is indeed how He views these multitudes.

 

 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for the twelve.  Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed them by His own power.  It notes that he names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, because many people had more than one name.  Here the names are given in pairs, which suggests who might have traveled together on their "first missionary journey," as St. Mark tells us that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

 

It's very interesting to note how Jesus fulfills the needs He encounters in the people, as He goes out preaching, teaching and healing.  At this point in His ministry, He's encountering multitudes who are like sheep without a shepherd, weary and scattered.  As commented above, this description gives us a sense of people who are beleaguered by life, in some sense cast off by the society that does not feed them what they need.   They need a true leader, someone to guide them, and clearly that Someone is Jesus, who is our true and good Shepherd (see John 10:1-30).  This description of the multitudes sounds like something that many "multitudes" could relate to today in our world.  Wherever we are, it seems that there are a lot of people feeling like they are in need of a shepherd, who may feel cast off and even without a deep sense of community.  Christ responds in a characteristic way, which is not sad nor diminished in optimism, but rather quite the opposite.  He sees these seemingly lost multitudes as a harvest which is plentiful for His future Church, but that there is simply a need of more laborers to gather them.   These are the people He has come to gather to Himself, to guide as Shepherd.  They are the lost sheep who need Him.  And now is the time not simply to minister to them, but to expand His ministry by extending His power to His disciples who will now become apostles.  After calling the Twelve, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. This is what Christ has come to do, and it is an opportunity for the glory of God and the power of Christ to manifest itself and grow within human beings.  These are the ones He has come for, and this is the way that His Church will be built.  Christ at once gives us many things characteristic of Himself and His work:  if something is sad, or weak, or broken, or in need of healing or care in our sight, it is an opportunity for His work, His power, His energy.  If something is cast off, He can gather it to Himself, and the ones who are scattered He can gather into His community.  And He will do this by extending His power through human beings, the faithful disciples.  This is also, if we look closely, the characteristics of the Cross, for in what appears to us sad or broken or needful, and invites despair, there is God who can work even through all things.  Just as St. Paul was told that God's strength was made perfect in his weakness (1 Corinthians 12:9), so grace works through the things that look "less than" to us, and Christ's greatest power continues to work through the Cross, even defeating death.  Let us look to that grace for all the surprising, uplifting, and beautiful things it can bring into our lives as well.  For we may all be laborers in whatever ways we are called.  

 

 

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. 

 

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.   He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side (returning from healing the Gadarene demoniac), a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the  crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that  was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Christ's own country is Nazareth, the place where He was raised.  My study Bible comments that this double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  In Near and Middle Eastern usage, then and today, brother can be used as a term for any number of varied relations.  Jesus' brothers and sisters are either children by a previous marriage of St. Joseph, or other relatives such as cousins and extended family.  Mary had only one child, her Son, Jesus.  Christ's saying, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house," is so significant that it is found in all four Gospels (Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).

 

 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  While grace is always offered to all, it notes, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  Let us note here that in the Greek, the word translated here as mighty work is the same word translated as "power" in yesterday's reading, above.  In yesterday's reading, Christ's power went out of Him in response to the faith of the woman with the years-long bloodflow; here there is no faith to respond to.

 

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.   He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.   After choosing the twelve (in this reading), the time has come that He has prepared them to be sent out on their first apostolic mission (in the Greek, the word for apostle means "one sent out" while disciple means "learner").  Here, once again, we encounter the word power in English, but in the Greek of this particular verse, this word is more akin to "authority."  This kind of power that He has given them is a conference of strength that comes out of His substance, His identity as Lord.  So, in a sense, Christ has made them His ministers of a sort.  He has given them authority over the unclean spirits, to command them as He does.  My study Bible comments on anointing the sick with oil.  It notes that this not only has medicinal value but also sacramental value.  As God's healing power is bestowed through creation, it says (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15; 19:11-12), so oil is also a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).  

 

 Power plays a strong role yet again in today's reading.  We compare and contrast this with the role Christ's power played in yesterday's reading.  Yesterday, as noted above, we read that power went out from Jesus in response to the woman who touched His clothes from behind Him in a crowd.  But in today's reading, that holy power to do "mighty works" has no faith to which to respond in Christ's hometown of Nazareth.  The people there are too clouded by their own memories and assignments of identity to Christ in terms of His social position as One who grew up among them as one of them, and their perspectives on His own family and their place in the town.  Their sight is clouded by their own opinions, worldly experience and assumptions, and possibly prejudices.  They believe that they know what they know, and so they are both astonished and offended at Him.  But they cannot accept the Christ who now stands before them as He is revealed to be in His ministry.  So there is a lack of faith in Him.  But this shows us also how holy power works, for it often does so through the least likely and most unassuming in terms of our own expectations and worldly notions.  This is exemplified in God's words to St. Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).  This, too, is related to faith and prayer, for this was said to St. Paul after he had prayed three times for a certain affliction to be removed from him, and it was not.  Here is the paradoxical (to us) nature of holy power; in this case, God's strength would be perfected in the affliction itself, in the "weak" vessel of St. Paul, conveyed to the world even through that weakness and, according to human judgment, imperfection.  Yet there was no greater advocate for Christ than St. Paul in terms of his ministry's impact upon the founding of the Church, and so God's strength was made perfect.  This is one of the great paradoxes of our faith, the transcendent usurping power of God through all things, turning all things to the power to serve holiness and beauty.  If Christ is perhaps the "least likely" according to the judgment of His fellow townspeople of Nazareth, so we get a taste of how God works in the world.  For, as my study Bible notes above, so it would be at His Crucifixion.  The apostles themselves are sent out with authority -- Christ's authority which He has chosen to confer upon them.  They are hardly images of human perfection or even at this stage the disciples they would grow to be, yet Christ invest His power in them and places His own faith in them as carriers of His message and ministry, as ambassadors of the His Kingdom.  When the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint a new king of Israel, David seemed the least likely of all the possibilities.  But Samuel was told by the Lord of the one who seemed to look the part of a king, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (see the story at 1 Samuel 16:1-13).  So it is that Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, with instructions which in all ways proclaim that they are humble, yet they are invested with the authority conferred by God over the unclean spirits.  Their weapon is the gospel; their rebuke to shake the dust off their feet where they will not be heard.  St. Paul writes, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).  Grace and power, and even authority, work through those whom God chooses, through things we least expect, through all things regardless of the views of the worldly-wise.  For this is how our faith works, and as it is yet still working.  

 

 

 

 

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets

 

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  

"Blessed are you poor, 

For yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you shall laugh. 

Blessed are you when men hate you,

And when they exclude you,

And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,

For the Son of Man's sake.

 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

 

But woe to you who are rich,

For you have received your consolation.

 Woe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.  

Woe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 

- Luke 6:12–26 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.  

 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: . . .   Jesus, as the Son of God, does not pray as if to obtain grace or revelation from the Father, my study Bible says.  It cites St. Ambrose of Milan, who says that as the Son of Man, Jesus prays as the Advocate for humanity  (see 1 John 2:1).  Jesus spent all night in prayer before choosing the twelve apostles.   Citing Theophylact, my study Bible says that this teaches us that before choosing a candidate for any spiritual ministry, we should pray that God will reveal to us the one suited for the task.  Disciples and apostles are frequently used interchangeably for these twelve.  The Greek word translated as disciple means literally "learner."  Apostle means "one sent out." 

Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.    The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name.  Here these names are given in pairs, suggesting possibly who traveled together on the first missionary journey.  Mark reports that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  The sermon that follows these verses is called the Sermon on the Plain, we're told that Jesus stood on a level place.  .  It's similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (found at Matthew 5 - 7), but not as extensive.  My study Bible comments that Jesus repeated many of His teachings over the period of three years in His public ministry.  It adds that, in the Old Testament, only a select few were chosen to hear God directly (see Exodus 19:3-13).  But God Incarnate speaks to His disciples and a great multitude face to face.  The power that went out of Him affirms His holiness. 

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."   Blessed in the context of this sermon (and the Sermon on the Mount) indicates a heavenly, spiritual exaltation rather than our conventional sense of earthly happiness or prosperity.  In Hebrew, my study Bible explains, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people.   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus addresses this to the "poor in spirit," meaning all those who have the heart of the poor, the same attitude as the poor, and a total dependence upon God. 

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness."  My study Bible says that these see  God and God's Kingdom as the most important thing in life.  They have a desperate craving for what is right before God, comparable to a starving person's desire for food (see Matthew 6:33). 

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."   Those who weep do so over the sufferings of this life (Matthew 9:23), the sufferings of others (John 11:35), the state of the world (Luke 19:41), and their own sins (Luke 7:36-38).  Laughter comes from the comfort of the power of God both in this world and in the age to come.  My study Bible notes that holy sorrow is part of repentance, conversion, and virtuous action, and is the firstfruit of infinite joy.  This type of sorrow is distinguished from ungodly sorrow; which would be a sadness that leads to despair (see 2 Corinthians 7:10).  

"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."    My study Bible comments that children of God uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other (Luke 6:24, 33; see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Those who are treated in the ways described here do so as was done to the prophets, and Christ as well.  Those who suffer persecution in this sense walk the same road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  See Acts 5:40-41.

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full for you shall hunger.   Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."  Luke gives us four "woes" that are not found in the Sermon on the Mount.  My study Bible says that woe is an indication not simply of sorrow, but of unspeakable destruction (Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  It remarks that those who prize the vices listed here are liable to the "utmost misery," according to St. Cyril of Alexandria.  But they find hope when they sacrifice earthly blessings in showing mercy to others.  

We might be puzzled by the "woes" that are included here in the Sermon on the Plain.  In a modern context, it's not often that we think of Jesus as one who assigns "woes" to people.  This is especially true because the things named as part of these woes are overwhelmingly seen as things that are highly desirable and good, notable signs of success which perhaps all would like to pursue.  Wealth, fullness, laughter, and particularly perhaps those who are spoken of in a positive light, with renown or great publicity all seem to define success.  These are the people we tend to define as stars, upheld to others for their admiration, and constantly courting public opinion.  But clearly Jesus frowns on these as goals worth dedicating our whole lives to as if they are the fullness of life and its sole purpose.  In fact, if that's all we do, forgetful of Christ's words and the important things we should be pursuing, then our laughter is hollow and temporary, our consolation only of this world and not for life beyond, we'll be starving for things of more real substance, and mourning what we could have pursued, and missed doing.  For again, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, we go back to what righteousness is, right-relatedness.  If all we do is pursue these goals, if these are our highest good, then where are we in terms of our capacity to love others and do good for community?  Where is God in such a set of goals?  As "every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17), then how we pursue those gifts, how we use them or think of them, is certainly the purview of the Author of the gift.  If all things come from above, then what is our role in placing gratitude to God first before all else, and seeking God's way to live in the world?  Jesus adds, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."  In the developed world, our capacity for the pursuit of all the things Jesus names becomes magnified and enhanced through every facet of what we call progress, every new development of technology and consumer goods.  But perhaps nothing is as magnified over and above the past as our capacity for the seeking of publicity, the hope that "all men speak well" of us, flatter us.  Giant social media networks like Facebook are driven by this desire, and those who have designed and engineered that know this very well, a system that goes by Likes, and Subscribes, and online Friends.  This great desire for a favorable image or outcome from the opinions of others drives its power to deceive through the failure to accept that it's God's opinion that matters most, takes priority in our choices and decisions.  We are so fixed in the idea of image as merely that which is reflected in the sight of others, rather than in the eye of God, that we run a risk of emptiness that never gets filled.  Indeed, studies have shown a depression correlated with social media use, the envy of what one sees crafted through photos and other posting coming to seem like the grass that is always greener somewhere else.  But needing to please God has to take on a different sort of priority, regardless of the rewards one might seek in a social context.  John's Gospel gives us a picture of the members of the ruling Council:  "many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).   The heretofore unprecedented levels of interactions available to us through modern technology make each of us hyper-aware of that "audience" available through the screen.  It leads us to focus a certain way, to think of ourselves within a particular sort of community that hasn't existed previous to recent times.  But God still calls to us, and perhaps that applause or approval we seek today is more fleeting than ever.  And yet there are also gatekeepers; we stand in constant awareness of the possibility that we will be censured, cancelled, shunned, and literally censored as well depending on how we serve that desired image and what it demands from us today.  Let us be attentive to the woes that Christ names, for it is an empty and merciless life defined only by  this kind of mutual praise, without the substance and grace that comes from the only God. 

He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him. 

 

 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do not might work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. 

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side (after the encounter with the Gadarene demoniac), a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"   As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  This double response of being both astonished and offended is something my study Bible says occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  We recall that the term brother is used to refer to all manner of relations, such as cousin or nephew.  The brothers and sisters referred to by the townspeople are Jesus' kin, either children of Joseph via an earlier marriage, or other extended family.  Mary had one Child; had she had others to care for her, Jesus giving her into the care of the disciple John at the Cross would have been unthinkable (John 19:26).

 

 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do not might work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  While grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  These twelve are those whom He called to Himself to both live with Him and learn from Him and to become apostles (Mark 3:13).  In Greek, disciple means "learner," while apostle means "one sent out."  Here they are sent out on their first apostolic mission.  We note that here St. Mark tells us they were sent out two by two, and that St. Matthew's Gospel lists the names of the disciples in pairs (Matthew 10:2-4).  My study Bible suggests that this possibly indicates who traveled with whom.  It also notes that Jesus gave them power over unclean spirits, while Jesus Himself did so by His own power.  Note that healings are closely connected with this power, and with anointing by the apostles.  All of their actions and Christ's commands remind us of the power of the Holy Spirit at work after Pentecost.  My study Bible says that to anoint the sick with oil has not only medicinal value but sacramental value as well.  It notes that as God's healing power is bestowed through creation (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15, 19:11-12), so oil is a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14). 

In our recent readings, we have repeatedly been given opportunities to contrast fear with faith.  This was so for the apostles crossing the Sea of Galilee through a terrific storm when they were frightened for their lives.  Jesus said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  Surely the sight of the Gadarene demoniac in the reading that followed was fearful to all, but Christ cast out the demons and returned the man to health.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed extensively the fear that must have been present for the woman who approached Jesus in secret, and also the fear of Jairus, whom Jesus told, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  In today's reading, we're given other reasons for people to fear.  Jesus is rejected in His home town of Nazareth.  The statement by Jesus, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house," is found in various forms in all four Gospels, so crucial it is to the gospel message. (See also Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24, John 4:44.)   As my study Bible notes, this rejection is also a prefiguration of rejection by the nation, which will culminate in crucifixion.  But what is really important to note is that in Jesus' sharing of His power with the disciples, now sent out as apostles, He is teaching them to rely totally upon God.  He tells them to take nothing for the journey except a staff, they are not to take extra supplies, "no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics."   Moreover, Jesus teaches them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place."  So, in other words, they are to stay in the more humble places that will receive them first, and not "trade up" for better lodgings, as protected guests of possibly more important people.  While these men are sent out without appearing to have material power, or even great significance within the society, nonetheless Jesus is teaching them of the power that will be at work in their mission is such that "whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  Moreover, this power is manifest through healing and the anointing with oil.  But, as is evident in the rejection of Jesus in His hometown, this power remains unknown to those who cannot receive nor perceive it.   Those who do not receive nor hear the apostles are unaware of and completely insensitive to the presence of this power.  Moreover, this power is not on display to "convince" anyone, to threaten anyone, even to save Christ from the Cross.  So it is in the context of all of these factors in which we understand that the disciples are being prepared for their missions both through the frightening challenges that take them more deeply into their faith, and also through Christ's instructions which render them more dependent upon God at the same time.  This tension between fear and faith is one that grows throughout the Gospels, and perhaps we are meant to accept and understand this more deeply in our own lives as we also meet the challenges to grow in our faith.  We might find it hard to understand that anybody could find fault with Christ, and yet He meets adversity at many turns in His ministry, offending the religious establishment, the people of His hometown, and finding rejection in many places.  Perhaps it's a lesson to us that, as we live in a world of debates, endless online discussion and squabbling, forums for opinion of all sorts, faith must find its way into our own understanding of what is true and real, and what is not.   Rational argument and debate can continue forever, but faith relies on something different and deeper and more subtle.  It also relies upon courage and our capacity for the strength that comes from trust in Christ.  

And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes

 

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

- Mark 1:14–28 

 

Yesterday we started reading the Gospel according to St. Mark:   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.

 

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel." My study Bible tells us that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals  that a key purpose of the old covenant -- preparing the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ came, then, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  My study Bible also notes that to repent is to do a total "about-face."  In Greek, "repentance" is μετανοια/metanoia, and it means literally to "change one's mind."  To repent is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart -- a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  Therefore, it's something that can be ongoing throughout our lives.

 

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.   John's Gospel makes it clear that these men had already heard the preaching of St. John the Baptist (and were earlier his followers) and had been prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:29-51).  Because of this they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, my study Bible says, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all. 

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.   We see the word immediately occurring several times already in this first chapter of St. Mark's Gospel.  My study Bible comments that it occurs almost forty times in this Gospel, nearly all of them before Christ's entrance into Jerusalem at Holy Week.  This sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem in order to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world fills St. Mark's Gospel, helping to make it both the shortest and most direct of the Gospels.  Here, Jesus begins teaching and healing on the Sabbaths, as St. Ambrose of Milan says, to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  The prophets of old and the teachers of Christ's day taught in the third person, either quoting from Scripture ("the Lord says") or the commentary of a famous rabbi.  But Christ teaches in the first person, speaking of His own authority.  

 

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.   As if to confirm His teaching with authority, Christ heals a man and casts out an unclean spirit, who recognizes and obeys Christ's command to "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  But even with evident authority, Christ wishes His identity as Messiah to remain unspoken until the proper time.  My study Bible says this refusal to fully disclose His messianic identity is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  It gives several reasons for this secrecy:  first, the growing hostility of the religious leaders; second, the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and finally, Christ's desire to evoke genuine faith not based only on marvelous signs.  

One thing we may notice already in St. Mark's Gospel is a line of delineation, a sort of separating out of one thing from another.  Often, making something sacred is aligned with "setting apart."  In Genesis we read that all was chaos until God began on the first day to separate one thing from another, such as the water from the land, and so to put things into order.  In this sense of putting things in order out of chaos, we should remember that Christ is also called the Logos (John 1:1), the Word.  His authority isn't simply one of power and control, nor a kind of assigned role or elected office by popular acclaim.  Christ's authority comes "of Himself," so to speak.  His very power is the power to set in order, to give meaning, to put things right, to make sense of things so that life can thrive and blossom.  One way things are set in order is that Christ is notably master of time.  Things must happen at the right time, and in the right order.  Moses and the Law came first, preparing the people for Christ.  But now that John is imprisoned, it is time for His public ministry, and Jesus preaches, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."   The word repent (a command here, if we may so note) is itself one that delineates boundaries, sets down priorities, and reorients all toward this singular pole of the truth and the Source of good.  The gospel or "good news" is the place all eyes should go, and all ears should hear.  The difference between Christ and the unclean spirits makes the difference clear; even the unclean spirits recognize Jesus' authority as that of the Holy One of God, and fear the time has come for their destruction. Even in this spiritual sense of the unseen (according to human eyes), things are put in order, set apart, a line is drawn, and Christ's authority is exercised for a purpose, to heal so that creation may flourish and grow.  Christ's authority is the center and the focus of this action of the good, that which sets apart, puts in reasonable order, gives clarity, and allows room for life to bloom -- and all of this is linked to truth, to our understanding of what is the truth.  It is an illustration of Christ's statement about Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), for in Him, His authority, and the order He establishes, we see all of these set down and revealed to us.   Ultimately, what Jesus' ministry has begun to do is to establish why we try to reach toward Him as our goal in our lives and in terms of our faith and even or communities.  In other words, in our communion with Him, and a deepening reconciliation and union to Christ, we find the "good order" we need in our lives in order to have life abundantly.  Using His authority, Christ commands the disciples, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  It is in that growing communion and reconciliation to Him that these disciples become the fishers of men that it is possible for them to be.  Let us follow their example.

 

 

Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  And they went into a house. 

 

- Mark 3:7-19 

 

On Saturday, we read that that Jesus and His disciples went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  Already in Mark's Gospel we're given to understand the great popularity of Jesus' ministry, and how the people respond to Him and follow Him.  They are from every region of the Jews and even from Gentile territory.  His effect is like that of a pop star; He's in danger of being crushed by the crowd.  So much so, that a small boat has to be kept ready for Him, so that He might escape the multitude if necessary.  His great effect is to heal, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.    My study Bible comments that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (see Saturday's reading, above), although it was not time for Him to die; and in order to preach in other places.  At the same time, the unclean spirits know Him, and He does not want them to make Him known at this point in His ministry.  According to my study Bible, Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  His reasons for secrecy include the growing hostility of the religious leaders; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly political leader; and finally, Christ's desire to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on the marvelous signs that accompany His ministry.  

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  And they went into a house. Jesus appoints twelve, that they may be disciples (they might be with Him) and apostles (He might send them out to preach).  In Greek the word for disciple means "learner," and the word apostle means "one sent out."   He also appointed them that they might have power to heal sicknesses and cast out demons, as He does.  But this power He gives to them (Matthew 10:1), while Jesus performed such miracles by His own power.  The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, because many people had more than one name.  In Matthew's Gospel, they are given in pairs, which suggests who may have traveled together on their first missionary journey (as further on Mark reports they went out two by two; see Mark 6:7).  

If we look at Christ's ministry as portrayed in all the Gospels, and specifically here in Mark, we see quite a progression.  Of course, Mark's Gospel moves along at a very rapid pace by comparison to Matthew, Luke, and John, and so we have had a chance to observe this rapid progression.  We're just on chapter 3, and Jesus' fame has spread from Galilee to all areas around historical Israel, to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, and beyond the Jordan to the east.  But it is this very sense of unfolding that we might pause to consider at this point.  If Christ is the Son of God, why couldn't He have simply come into the world and announced His arrival with a kind of splendid and extraordinary event which was known to all people all at once?  Why could He have not come into the world and corrected the sin that exists here, freeing people from the cumulative effects of a "fallen" world?  Why does His ministry progress instead of simply being declared by fiat?  These questions are important, because, first of all, we understand Christ as a divine being outside of time.  That is, the human Jesus, of course, exists in time as the rest of us human beings do.  But the divine nature of the Son is timeless, outside of time, eternal and also able to declare the time (and specifically the appropriate hour for His own glorification on the Cross).  In His various miracles, He shows Himself somehow to be beyond the physical laws of the world (such as walking on the water).   We understand that God being born as human being (the Incarnation) is crucial to the salvation of the world, and therefore for the Son of God to live as a human being, and be subject to the things fellow human beings are subject to, is central the the theme of salvation -- indispensable to the redemption of the world.  And so, the idea that the ministry somehow unfolds within time is important in this sense, even if we don't understand the specifics.  When Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, in Matthew's recording of the event, John the Baptist first protests, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus replies to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him" (see Matthew 3:13-16).   Perhaps there is a clue in Christ's response as to the reason things unfold in time, and are not accomplished in an instant and for all the world; in this way, all righteousness is fulfilled.  The manifestation of God's Kingdom depends on more factors than our limited understanding can grasp.  But one thing we know for certain:  human beings must also be involved in this work of redemption and salvation of the world.  The unfolding of Christ's ministry takes a new turn today when He appoints the Twelve for ministry.  It should be a key point of exclamation for us to observe that Christ, our Lord, now shares His divine power with these appointed twelve disciples and apostles.  In this way, we observe the true inclusion of human beings in this righteousness that will work to save the world.  It isn't only God's love that is at work here, but also God's love chooses to work through human beings, with our inclusion and acceptance of this unfolding plan.   Perhaps we might consider this reasonable in the light of the nature of how we consider the world to be "fallen."   In Romans 5:12-17, St. Paul reminds us that sin entered the world through one man, and death as an effect of sin.  We can pause to consider all the cumulative effects of sin in the world, even the effects under which human beings commonly suffer through no fault of their own (their own personal sin).  In the ancient perspective of Christianity, evil or the "fallen" quality of the world is analogous to children who suffer for the sins of the parents, not because they are guilty, but because they must cope with the consequences of sins like abuse, crime, addiction, and so many other things.  If we understand Christ's ministry as unfolding, possibly to "fulfill all righteousness," then perhaps we can understand that as human beings were instrumental in bringing corruption into the world, then it is through us human beings that Christ will work to redeem the world.  Jesus shares His power with those whom He has chosen, and if His saving power is that which transfigures all things, then perhaps we need to understand that God will not simply come and declare the world fixed and redeemed without our involvement as well.  To fulfill all righteousness, to redeem a world beset by sin and its cumulative and inherited effects, can only work through the "work of God."  That is, not through our own plans or ideas, but in a way that God teaches us to work.   There are all kinds of ways in which we human beings come up with our own ideas about how to address the problem of evil in the world, but it is a problem much further up than our paygrade, so to speak, and we are given a Savior and a saving plan through the gospel of the Kingdom, in which we are asked to participate.  Let us watch the unfolding of this ministry, and come to understand also how we may unfold that same faith in our own lives, His way, even as He shares His power and commandments with those whom He has appointed, who came before us to found the Church in the world.  For we inherit our faith and the work of God through them also.

 

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a  great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed the twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  And they went into a house. 

 

- Mark 3:7-19a 

 

On Saturday we read that it happened that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.   

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were now planning to destroy Him (see Saturday's reading, above) though it was not time for His death,  and also in order to preach in other places.  

And a  great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.   By now Christ's renown as a healer is so great that He must be able to get away from the crowds with a small boat kept ready, lest they should crush Him, as they pressed about Him to touch Him.  My study bible comments on Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah.  It says that this is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are varied reasons for secrecy, which include (1) the growing hostility of the religious leaders; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and finally (3) Christ's desire to invoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  This is the second time Mark's Gospel has given us an example of the unclean spirits knowing and identifying who Christ was, and His command to be quiet (see Mark 1:23-26).

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed the twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  And they went into a house.   Jesus goes up on the mountain as a sign to us that what is happening is given from God.  Although Mark does not mention either word, it's worth noting that "disciples" and "apostles" are frequently used interchangeably for these twelve.  The Greek word for disciple means "learner" (mathetes/μαθητὴς) and for apostle means "one sent out" (apostolos/ἀπόστολος).  This act is an important sign or marker of the expansion of Christ's ministry in the world, as now it is not only Christ, but those whom He appointed will not only be with Him as disciples, but also sent out as apostles to expand His work.  In their capacity as apostles they are sent out to preach as He does, but even to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.  This is a power given by Christ, who performs such things by His own power.  Also noteworthy is the change of names for a few:  Simon is renamed Peter by Christ, James and John are given the name Boanerges or "Sons of Thunder," and Levi the tax collector is now called Matthew (see Mark 2:13-17).  

In pursuing His worldly public mission, Jesus has any number of variables to juggle.  As my study bible points out, there is first of all the revelation by the demons of His true identity before the time is appropriate for this unveiling.  The people expect the Messiah to be a worldly king, one who will rule as do the Romans, with a great dominant kingdom in the lineage of David, which will set aright the fortunes of Israel and the people of God.  Jesus therefore does not publicly explicitly reveal Himself as such, nor has it even come time for the confession of faith by Peter on behalf of the disciples.  That will come in Mark's 8th chapter, and even then Christ will demand that they tell it to no one (see Mark 8:27-30).  Therefore we are to understand that there is a particular way in which Christ's ministry is to unfold, and there are particular times when things are appropriate to be done (John 7:30).  In that pursuit of understanding what correct timing is all about, we can look at this new phase in Christ's ministry and see its components.  As Jesus goes up on the mountain to appoint the twelve, we know this as a sign of something given by God.  It is a new turn or twist in His public ministry.  But accompanying this new turn is another fact we can't overlook, and that is that the religious authorities have decided to destroy Him, in collusion with those who represent the state power, the Herodians who support the ruling house of Herod, which rules for Rome.   At the end of Saturday's reading, we were told that "then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him" (see above).  In this new phase of Christ's ministry, through His shared power and the discipleship of the twelve, His ministry expands, even as it begins to be pursued by the alliance of religious authorities with the ruling empire.  And then there remains the whole open question of who will respond to this ministry, and how people will respond to it.  It might sound strange to say it, but this is a dimension which is entirely outside of Jesus' control, for it is by God's choice outside of God's control.  God grants us free will, and in our choice to say "yes" or "no" to God we remain in that sense free.  God does not compel anyone to love God, and yet God always has love for us.  As my study bible notes it, Jesus does not want people to come to false faith, which would be based solely on marvelous signs.  His real search in this world, the goal with which He encourages others to become "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17), is to find those whose faith is genuine.  And that is entirely in the hands of human beings.  If we really observe Jesus' ministry from this angle, and including this new expansion of choosing the twelve to go out and in whom He invests His power and shares it with the world through them, we see what great tremendous leaps God takes to place faith and investment in human beings.  What kind of response will there be?   In Luke 18, when Jesus exhorts His followers to persistent prayer, He also asks, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (see Luke 18:1-8).  And this is our question and what remains of this tremendous effort on our behalf and for our salvation.  Jesus invests His life, manifests Himself as human being, God's love expands this human-divine ministry into the world, and we are still left with this question.  Will we understand?  Will He find faith?  Do we look simply for miracles and signs?  Or is faith somewhere else in the heart that replies with justice to the One who is the Sun of Righteousness, with love to God who is love, with faith in the One who is true and faithful?  These are the questions which remain, for every generation, and with us now, today.

 

 

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, and a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

- Mark 3:7-19a

On Saturday we read that it happened that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, and a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.   As we read in Saturday's reading (above), by this time the Pharisees and Herodians (the followers of Herod Antipas, "king" or tetrarch of Galilee) are plotting against Jesus, to destroy Him.  My study bible says that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (although it is not time for Him to die), and also to preach in other places.  As we read, many from Galilee followed Him, but now His fame is spreading so that not only are people coming from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and also from beyond the Jordan River to the east, but also from far northern "Gentile" territories of mixed populations, from Tyre and Sidon.  (See this map for locations.)  All of these are the territories that make up the home of the Jewish populations that remained at Christ's time in and around historical Israel.  The emphasis is on how great the multitude is, and also how assiduously they seek Christ, as He now directs His disciples to keep a small boat ready so that He can leave if He needs to avoid being crushed by the crowd.  We're told that this is because those who have afflictions seek Him for healing, desiring even to touch Him.  But also there remains the phenomenon of the unclean spirits who know who He is.  We read into the text on these occasions the surprise of the spirits that He is among them and in this world, but also Jesus' admonition -- His command reflecting His true authority -- that they should not make Him known.  His ministry must unfold in a particularly way and in a particular time.  These facts we would do well to appreciate in our own lives and in accordance with our own faith.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  The experiences described as up on a mountain are that hint at the heavenly mingled with the worldly, times of spiritual revelation.  Here at this time the twelve are appointed from among His disciples.  Christ invests them with authority and power.  They will now also become apostles whom He might send out to preach (apostle in the Greek means one who is "sent out" on a mission), and He also shares with them the power to heal sicknesses and cat out demons.  In all listings of the Twelve, we note that Judas is always mentioned as the one who betrayed Him.

Christ's ministry has reached a kind of tipping point; He is ready now, with the swelling ranks of people who seem driven to see Him and even to touch Him, to appoint the Twelve -- those disciples who also become apostles.  My study bible notes that frequently the words "disciples" and "apostles" are used interchangeably for these twelve men.   In the Greek, disciple means literally "learner" and apostle means "one sent out."  In this sense, we are all disciples of Christ, and our learning is a lifelong journey of following Him, His way.  As we live our lives in accordance with our faith, we are also, in one sense or another, "sent out" to live as faithful in a world frequently hostile to His teachings.  In today's reading, up on a mountain, Christ shares His power with these men.  It is, my study bible points out, His own power which He shares with particular people in particular ways.  To my mind, this is a kind of investment by Creator in creature.  The early Church will come to know special charisms, or gifts of the Spirit, which St. Paul writes about.  In Galatians 5, St. Paul lists "fruits of the Spirit" which are the result of a life lived in faith, products of the synergy between the divine and human in this new covenant given by Christ (see Galatians 5:22-23).  Christ, in a revelation of this new covenant, shares His divine power and authority with human beings.  We don't know why and how, but through the lives of the saints of the Church over two millennia we are given what it means that particular people show forth the gifts and fruits of this divine/human synergy -- embodied through the Incarnation itself -- in their own lives.  As I have often written in commentary, there really is no such thing as a cookie-cutter saint.  Each becomes his or her own dynamic personal  story, a life of devotion to God unfolded in particular ways, reflecting our origin as unique creatures of an infinite and infinitely creative God, and also the particular ways in which grace works in the world through each of us.  The saints are not stories told in holy places and ancient literature simply for our interest.  They are rather examples, models given to us of what God's work in our own lives might take on.  For this very reason, saint's lives often look to us strange or peculiar in light of modern society -- and even, we must come to recognize -- the particular mores of their own time and place.  In the Orthodox tradition, for instance, there exist a type of saint called "Fools for Christ," whose own deliberately chosen actions or lifestyles resemble forms of mental illness, chosen to reflect that which is outside of the society and frequently manifest in times when strict social hierarchy and structure were harshly enforced.  It is simply one way in which grace pours into worldly life when it would seem to be impossible, a perfect image of the work of the Spirit in the world.  This act of Christ taking these men to the mountaintop, and investing His own power in them for ministry, healing, and the casting out of demons is the perfect image to capture the work of God overcoming the "prince of this world," and what a truly revolutionary or radical ministry is always at work.  From the roots up, the purely materialistic structures of this world are shaken.   These powers Christ comes to displace in our world are still at work, but they always take on new form, ready to call the reality of the divine illusory.  But the Spirit is infinitely creative, and the lives of the saints reflect how the work of the divine will always find a way to make Christ's ministry felt and known, even by the fruits which St. Paul lists.  St. Paul also speaks of the "peace that passes understanding" (Philippians 4:7), even as Christ promises the Twelve in John's Gospel that He gives them of both His joy and peace, but that He gives "not as the world gives" (John 14:27).  We should understand that these forces are still very much at work in the world, and they work through us in ways hidden to those who cannot understand them, even in the surprising depths of our own hearts -- even as Christ taught us to pray and do good works in secret, so that our "Father who sees in secret" may also reward us openly (Matthew 6:1-20).  That is, in ways those without spiritual perception will still fail to understand, but which appear openly in the world.  It would do us good to consider the ways in which our modern lives hide the gifts of the Spirit, and a fully material understanding of what is "good" or worthwhile also seeks to blind us to this synergy of God at work through us and in the world (i.e., do our prayers make a difference?)   Our faith may depend upon this very thing, and our understanding of our love of God and how it works in us and through us as well.  Our focus is not on what the whole world seems to think; rather, our faith must work through our experience of it, and the journey of its deepening and unfolding.