He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him

 

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

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

 Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

 

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

 

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

 

- Mark 1:1–13 

 

In our past three readings, we went through what is known as the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus' final prayer, heard by His disciples at the Last Supper (see parts 1 and 2 in the reading and commentary for this past Thursday and Friday).   On Saturday, we read that Jesus prayed, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."  

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As we enter earnestly into Lent (for the Eastern Orthodox, today begins the day of the full fast for Lent), the lectionary begins the Gospel of St. Mark.  My study Bible notes that the word gospel comes from the Greek εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion, which literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  This was a word known to all people of the extensive Roman Empire of the time, as public messages or declarations from the emperor were called by this name.  Here, the word refers not to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, it is the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, according to my study Bible, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry.  These are the preparation by Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him.  

 

 As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  St. Mark provides us with the messages of the prophets Malachi and Isaiah (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3), which are fulfilled by the one whom we call the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist.  St. John ascribes to himself this role of "the voice" in Isaiah's prophecy in John 1:23.  

 

 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.   John is clothed in a way that markedly resembles Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:8), a hint that he fulfills yet another prophecy by Malachi, who prophesied the return of Elijah before the Messiah or Christ (Malachi 4:5,6).  See also Matthew 17:12-13; Mark 9:12-13; Luke 1:17.  

 

  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."  Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which my study Bible calls the power and grace of God divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.

 

  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."  Jesus does not need baptism, but in being baptized, my study Bible explains, the Lord accomplished several things.  First, He affirms John the Baptist's ministry, from whom many of His first called disciples would come.  Second, He was revealed by the Father and the Spirit to be the Christ, God's beloved Son.  This appearance of the Holy Trinity is a theophany, or manifestation of God.  Moreover, Jesus identified with His people by descending into the waters with them.  Here He prefigures His own death (as the waters of baptism signify death and coming up from them rebirth or in Christ's case, Resurrection) and so gives baptism its ultimate meaning.  By entering the waters of the Jordan, Jesus sanctifies water itself for future baptism.  Finally, He fulfills the many types given in the Old Testament, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so the people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3; 4).  Finally, by being baptized Christ opened the heavens to a world separated from God through sin.  

 

 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.  This experience of forty days being tempted by Satan is given more detailed treatment in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).   There Jesus endures temptations designed to separate Him from the Father, and to deny His relationship as Son of God.  Additionally, the temptations are to misuse His power for personal gain, indulging in common passions rather than sticking to His mission of loyalty to God the Father.  Let us take note that the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness for this test of temptations prior to beginning His public ministry in earnest, throughout which His various trials would present Him with occasion to consider misuse of His divine powers.  But even unto death, Jesus will remain ultimately loyal to the Father.  

 

  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.  Christ's forty days in the wilderness is the basis for Lent and its historical practices.  All of these Lenten practices are geared to help us to learn to say no to temptations to indulge our own passions, ideas which we know are not blessed through teachings by Christ nor a prayerful or faithful life, and to help us learn spiritual self-discipline of all kinds.  These practices are meant to shore up our spiritual strength, just as Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan.  Let us note that this was a deliberate period of testing, as such resistance to take an easier way out would always be present for Christ.  Looking at the temptations listed in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, we see that there was always the temptation to take shortcuts.  The devil tempts Jesus to seize worldly power. Well, there are a lot of people who wonder why Christ didn't do just that, and why He didn't impose His will on the world.  Wouldn't the world be a better place if He just wiped out all evil and demanded fidelity to God?  Well, no, actually.  The plan of God apparently invites us in, as human beings, to do the same as our Creator did, and invites us to participate fully in Christ's life even while we are in this world just as He did.  That's rather extraordinarily an elevation above being compelled to do something as if we were not given free will by our Creator for some higher purpose.  And love doesn't come from being compelled or enslaved.  So how could we learn love if Christ had used His power that way?  Indeed, He would have failed His mission, for God compels no one to love God, while always loving us and holding His hand open for us for our salvation, and for grace.  How would we learn what divinity is or means or does, if Christ did not Himself reflect the Father in the world ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9)?  Moreover, Christ's temptation in the wilderness is a participation in our own lives in this world, as it reflects us and our place.  We live in a world where we are invited into salvation and grace while at the same time tempted by the devil and the evil in the world.  So He showed us the way, and Lent is meant as a time in which we practice what He showed us, we learn better what to do and how to live in this world while also participating in His kingdom as we can ("I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" - John 17:15-16).  Christ prepares us, by inviting us into this challenge, for something so much better than the slavery one finds to compulsions, addictions, easy indulgence, and all that goes with the seduction of easy solutions to the "cares of this world" that threaten to choke us at times and divert us from God's hope for us.  He will be asked repeatedly for a sign by the religious authorities, so that they can be convinced of His authority, and that He is the Christ, but He will not give signs on demand.  Let us be grateful that He endured all that He did for love of us, for our salvation, and to show us the way and true power of the Cross, with God's grace helping us.  Let us follow Him into Lent and meet our own challenges His way.  For we, too, have His angels ministering to us.

 

 

 

 

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going

 

Christ the Bridegroom

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  

 

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  

 

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 

- John 12:27–36 

 

Yesterday we read that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast of Passover.  It is now the final week of Jesus' earthly life.  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour."  Jesus' soul is troubled, for this hour is the approaching time of His Crucifixion and and death.  My study Bible comments that it is the mark of Christ's humanity to abhor death.  Yet, according to His divine nature, He affirms that for this purpose He has come to this hour.  His divine will is one with the Father's, and He will submit His human will to the same.

 

"Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."   My study Bible explains that the Father's name is an extension of His Person.  It notes that the Son's death completes the purpose of the Father, and it shows His love for all -- thereby glorifying Him.  Effectively, Christ is saying, "Father, lead Me to the Cross."  This is the Lord's divine response to the human prompting to avoid the Cross ("Now My soul is troubled").  The Father's response, according to my study Bible, is a reference to the signs which have already been performed by Christ, and to the death and Resurrection to come.

 

 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."    Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake." My study Bible says that although the Father spoke clearly, some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder because they lacked faith.  Those with a little faith heard the words but did not know the source, thinking it to be an angel.  But the disciples knew that the Father Himself had spoken, and it is to them that Jesus says that this voice came "for your sake."

 

 "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  Once again Jesus uses the term lifted up to refer to being hung on the Cross (see also John 3:14-15, 8:28).  Christ's death will bring salvation to all peoples, and at the same tie render judgment on the faithless, and destroying once for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world.  

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  The light, my study Bible says, refers to Christ (John 1:4-9, 8:12).  It notes that there are several facets of meaning to Christ's teaching here.  First, He's indicating that He will soon be completing His public ministry.  Additionally, our lives are very limited.  We have only a short time to repent and believe in Christ before our own deaths.  And finally, the second coming of Christ is but a little while when compared to eternity. 

 

 Father Stephen Freeman, an Orthodox priest who writes a blog called "Glory to God for All Things," has written an interesting commentary on the Crucifixion.  In the Orthodox Church, these first few days of Holy Week are focused on Christ the Bridegroom, the One who will be united to His Bride, the Church.  The icon of the Bridegroom may seem like one that is very counterintuitive to us.  Christ the Bridegroom is also Christ the Prisoner.  This Bridegroom icon is also -- in a way which likely strikes us as strange as well -- the icon of marriage.  Christ's hands are tied; in marriage we are not free to do just as we please, but we enter into a covenant that means mutual sacrifice on the part of both spouses.  We also may suffer with those whom we love, as when a child or other loved one is ill or goes through harm or misfortune.  But Father Stephen's commentary focuses on the Cross as revealing what truly is.  For the Bridegroom is also the Judge.  Christ's parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins focuses on the Bridegroom coming at midnight:  which virgins have filled their lamps with oil in preparation to keep their lamps lit, and which have not. To make sense of this parable, one must understand that the word in Greek for the olive oil that traditionally filled those lamps sounds alike to the word for "mercy."  Thus, to be prepared for our Bridegroom upon His return is to live our lives in the practice of the mercy He teaches us as His disciples, keeping our lamps full, and lit with His light for this world.   We prepare for the coming of our Bridegroom by following His teachings, keeping His word, walking in His light so that we might become sons of light.  For this is what it means to keep our lamps full, to learn to practice His grace and mercy and grow in that discipline with His light, His help.  Father Stephen's commentary on the Bridegroom teaches us that we have all received of Christ's fullness through His life, and judgment is laid bare at the Cross.   Everything is revealed.  For there we accept or we do not accept, we believe or we do not believe, and His life is the revelation of God for us (John 14:9).   It is, after all, in His light that all darkness is dispelled, and life -- and truth -- are revealed for what they are.  May we all become sons (and therefore heirs) of that light.

 

 

 

 

 

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  

 

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  

 

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

 

- John 10:1–18 

 

 In our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, an eight day harvest festival.  It is the final year of Christ's earthly life.  On this last, great day of the feast, Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  He has healed a man blind from birth, the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel, something unheard of in the Scriptures.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you  already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."   They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 

  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  In today's reading, Jesus continues His conversation with the Pharisees.  Once again, we know that all of this is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Here Jesus begins to contrast their leadership with is own.  My study Bible comments that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" being from the Latin word meaning "shepherd).  It says their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  On the other hand, Christ's fulfills all virtue.  In these verses, we are to understand that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of each person, so also true pastors in the Church strive to know their people by name, that is, personally, according to my study Bible.  These pastors, it teaches, endeavor to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, possessing Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, the people will respond to a true leader, trusting that such a person is a follower of Christ.  My study Bible quotes St. Ignatius of Antioch:  "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  In fact, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (see John 7:47-49).  

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  My study Bible explains that the phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or to genuine prophets, but rather to people who claim to be the Messiah -- both before and after Christ -- such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (see Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, it notes, is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, luring away both leaders and people.  Life means living in God's grace here on earth, while the more abundant life speaks of the Kingdom to come.  Jesus says, "I am the door."  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible comments, the door is God's Word, which means both the Scriptures and our Lord Himself -- since the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  The one who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ, nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures, is a thief and a robber.  Rather than using this door so all can see Christ's words openly, the false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls.  In contrast, the pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life.  

 

 "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  Here Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd.  My study Bible says that this role is fulfilled in the following ways:  First, Christ enters by the door; that is, He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Second, He knows and is known by the Father.  Third, He knows His people personally, and therefore is known by them.  Finally, He gives His life for the sake of His people, which is a direct prophecy of His coming Passion.  

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  Other sheep, my study Bible explains, are the Gentiles.  They will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, therefore, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  My study Bible comments that it has been the Orthodox teaching from the beginning that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in every generation.  It quotes a letter from St. Ignatius written in the early second century to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians.  In this letter St. Ignatius taught, "Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of His Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there is one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."

 

 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  Jesus says, "I lay down My life . . ."  Here He makes clear that His life-giving death will be voluntary, my study Bible says.  He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  Moreover, as He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

 

 Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd, and my study Bible gives us several ways in which this title and role is fulfilled in His life.  Moreover, He remains the Good Shepherd for us, as He also lives with us and among us, albeit in a mystical presence.  How do we know this?  He has said so.  He speaks of the kingdom of God in this way when asked by the Pharisees:  "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  In Matthew 18:20, Jesus tells the disciples, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  He is also our Good Shepherd because He is the light; He is the light by which we need to see in a darkened world, and sometimes one in which we can see nothing at all to show us the way through.  In John 8:12, Jesus has taught, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Perhaps it is Jesus as the Light which plays the most significant role in our own lives, so many centuries after His earthly life.  Of course, John's Gospel is the Gospel of the Light, emphasizing in so many ways how Christ is the light of the world.  Right from the beginning of this Gospel, in introducing to us the Logos, the Word, John writes, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  As the Door, and as the Good Shepherd, Jesus warns us that the way to life is narrow, and particular.  In Matthew 7:13-14, He tells us, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  Again, He is the Door, just as He is also the Gate -- He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to the place of pasture that is proper to us, just as He is the One who is the bread of heaven, the Bread of Life with which we need to be fed for the everlasting life He offers, the life more abundantly we read about in today's reading.  All of these things point to the ways in which Jesus is active in our lives, and remains so as our Good Shepherd.  And He will not leave us alone, for He has said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  When we pray, when we worship, when we read the Scriptures, let us remember the ways that He remains active in our lives, close by, teaching us the things we need, showing us the way through our lives.  In John's 14th chapter, Jesus promises, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. . . . If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (see John 14).  Through all of these means, through the faithful, and the communion of saints, in the Church, and in all the ways we may participate in the life of the Body of Christ, He is with us as the Good Shepherd, who sees us through our lives.  He knows all our names.  Now the question is, how do we live as His sheep?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going

 

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 

- John 12:27–36a 

 

Yesterday we read that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the Passover feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." 

 

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour."  Jesus is troubled in His human soul; but He is willingly going to His hour, the time of His glorification.  My study Bible comments that it is the mark of humanity to abhor death; but Jesus is without sin and so completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's will, for this purpose.  My study Bible adds that it shows that each person must submit one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).  There is a quotation from Pope St. Gregory the Great:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."

"Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  My study Bible explains that the Father's name is an extension of His Person.  The Son's death, it says, completes the purpose of the Father, and shows His love for all, thus glorifying Him.  Jesus effectively says, "Father, lead Me to the Cross."  This is our Lord's divine response to the human desire to avoid the Cross.  God the Father's response, my study Bible adds, refers to the signs already performed by Christ and to the death and Resurrection to come.  

Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."  Although the Father spoke clearly, my study Bible notes, some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder because they lacked faith.  People with a little faith heard the words, but did not know the source, thinking it was an angel.  The disciples knew that the Father had spoken ("This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake").

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  Lifted up is a reference to Christ being hung on the Cross (a phrase He has used already; see John 3:14-15; 8:28).  Christ's death will bring salvation to all peoples, and at the same time will render judgment on the faithless and will destroy once for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world.  

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  The light, as has permeated John's Gospel, refers to Christ (John 1:4-9; 8:12).  My study Bible comments that Christ's teaching here has several facets of meaning.  First, He will be completing His public ministry shortly.  Additionally, our lives are very limited.  We all have but a short time to repent and believe in Christ before death.  Finally, the second coming of Christ is only a little while when compared to eternity.

There is a movie made in 1945 titled I Know Where I'm Going.  It's about a British woman headed off to marriage with a man who's a great captain of industry, a rich man, a great catch.  She thinks she has her life all bundled up in a neat bundle.  But, when she gets to where she is going (an island in Scotland rented by the rich man for the wedding), she meets a local man, down to earth, wise in ways of the sea and his heritage -- and one can figure out the ending, although it still comes as a surprise.  The title (and the title song) is all about how certain we are of our own worldly plans, and how little we know once a much deeper impulse and love makes itself known to us.  That title might well be appropriate for us to consider in light of today's reading, and Christ's very plaintive words regarding the trouble in His soul, but overcome by His love of and loyalty to the Father.  Everything comes down to that love that is inseparable from Christ's identity as Son.  He will glorify His Father's name.  There is no separating Him from the Father, not all the worldly impulses and temptations, not the human fear of death, not His possible concerns over the eventual state of His Church or His disciples.  Everything goes into His love of and trust in the Father.  Everything depends on this, for in that trust and love is the confidence that Christ expresses when He says, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  All of salvation depends upon this act, and its fullness comes from the love of the Father and the Son, and Christ's confidence in where He is truly going because of that love.  There is none who would deny Christ's human impulses, His desire to draw away from death that He knows is coming.  But where He is going is a place to which God the Father calls Him, and it is that place that will result in transcendence of death, the defeat of death, and that defeat is a blow for all of us.  It is that defeat of death in which "the judgment of this world" can take place; and even more specifically, that "now the ruler of this world will be cast out."  And this is where Christ is really going.  He has already shown, in His seventh and final sign in John's Gospel, that He, indeed, is the author of life.  But now He will experience human death, and in so doing, He will draw all peoples to Himself.  In the Synoptic Gospels, after Peter makes his confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and Jesus then reveals the manner of His death to the disciples, St. Peter tells Jesus that this must not happen.  But Jesus' response to Peter is, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8).  He tells Peter that he's not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.  That is, in a worldly sense, when Peter tries to prevent Christ from this death, he thinks he knows what he's doing and where he's going.  But there is something else to follow, and that is the light of love that defines God, that is God.  It is the life that is in Christ, which is the light of human beings (John 1:4).  It is the way that might not sound good or right to our human, earthly ears, but is the draw of surpassing love and light, the greater outcome that offers things far beyond our vision that we can know now, at such a moment.  In this moment, Jesus says to all, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."  In the darkness that we know still lives in this world, with which we contend who seek to follow the light, what destination or goal sounds good to you?  Have you had the experience of thinking one thing is good, and finding that God changes your life and offers you something else completely different?  Jesus knows where He is going, but He is the light with us.  As He says, he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  Even when St. Peter thought he was doing a good and loving thing, he wasn't mindful of the things of God.  The light opens up so many possibilities that would not exist without it; Christ's death will save an entire universe and we all know today that He did this for us, and we are loved.  Do we know where we are going?

 

 

 

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, 

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out, 

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust."

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.   

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.   Jesus withdrew because He knew the Pharisees were plotting against Him, how they might destroy Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  

And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."   My study Bible comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are several reasons given here for Christ's secrecy regarding His identity.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders.  Second, the people misunderstand the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  My study Bible adds that the Servant is a reference first to Christ, but by extension it applies to all who follow Him.

Looking closely at today's reading, we are given an important chance to note Christ's reaction to opposition, and what it tells us about Him, and "what manner of spirit He is of."  If people are expecting a worldly king as Messiah, one who uses every advantage of power for what it can bring to him, then they are disappointed and perhaps shocked or surprised at Christ.  Although He has clearly shown His power to heal and to cast out demons, this extraordinary power that He has is not used to defeat His opponents (such as the Pharisees) either in the traditional sense of the power to manipulate or move circumstances "His" way, nor is it used in some magical sense to manipulate the minds of the Pharisees.  Instead, Christ is the Servant in the prophesy of Isaiah, He withdraws.  It is not yet time for the confrontation that will come later, not yet time for His Passion.  This Servant is not like rulers and governors like Caesar or King Herod.  "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  Even among the Gentiles, He will declare and send forth victory to justice -- and yet His persona, power, and authority are nothing like those of the Gentile rulers.  His justice does not work like worldly justice.  His methods and working are entirely different, almost opposite.  Everything about Him speaks to humility; above all He is a servant of God, does not curry favor nor play political games.  He is the One upon whom is God's Spirit, and everything about His working and what He does is a part of that spiritual reality which travels through even our world unhindered by time or space, but works through everything.  The prophecy of Isaiah is a part of this "network" (so to speak) of the Spirit, and so even 700 years earlier He could tell us about the Christ.  This reveals to us yet another aspect about Christ's identity; in the Kingdom this King brings into the world there is an eternal reality.  It permeates and intersects with our lives, and deeply within our hearts, but it is unrestricted by time and space.  In God's Kingdom, power is used in a way that conveys grace, and our Messiah is the Servant who will achieve victory through this power which so embraces humility and the service of the will of the Father.  God calls the Servant My Beloved, indicating to us this is also a Kingdom of love.  Let us seek His way, so that we also serve His Kingdom, accept His justice, and trust in His name.

Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22-36 

 

In yesterday's reading, we are given Jesus' continuing words to Nicodemus, explaining who He is:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  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 into 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."

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'"  My study Bible clarifies that in these passages referring to Christ baptizing, we are to understand that Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples, which the Gospel indicates in John 4:2.  At this stage we're notified that Jesus' ministry now surpasses that of John the Baptist (who was himself highly revered among the people as a holy man), for now "all are coming to Him!"

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  My study Bible tells us that John the Baptist is called the friend (or "best man"), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.  The bride is the Church, the people of God.  Here, John the Baptist lays out the proper relationship between Himself and Jesus.   John confesses his role in the coming of the Messiah; he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and therefore he rejoices in this celebration. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease."  My study Bible comments that John here expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers.   Here he renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As John the Baptist allows Christ to increase in him, John finds true glory for himself.  This statement moreover indicates the end of the old covenant.  So, as the law vanishes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  John's declaration is revealed in the liturgical calendar, as his birth is celebrated at a time when the sun starts to decrease in the sky (June 24), and Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25). 

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here John echoes the teaching of Christ in our prior reading (above).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this final statement of faith.  It quotes from the commentary of St. John Chrysostom:  "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24.

John the Baptist affirms here what Jesus has said earlier in this chapter:  that Jesus is the Son who comes from heaven.  Therefore, Jesus speaks of what He knows firsthand, of what He has seen and heard.  He testifies.  Jesus speaks the words of God, for -- and John says something exceptional here -- God does not give the Spirit by measure.  John also speaks to us of God's love, just as Jesus testified in yesterday's reading, above.  He tells us, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand."   This is the same as Jesus' declaration to Philip in chapter 14:  "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works" (John 14:8-10).  But let us examine John's words about John himself, because these words are essential to the identity of all of us.  He begins by teaching that a person "can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven."  John explains his place by saying, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."   As the friend of the bridegroom, John's identity is fulfilled in all the things the bridegroom speaks, and thus rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  This sense of one's joy being fulfilled comes out of the power of real destiny; that is, the authentic "true self" that is fulfilled in more closely becoming the image planted within us by our Creator.  For John, this authentic self is the "friend of the bridegroom" in his mission as Forerunner, the one who heralds the coming of the Kingdom and of the Messiah.  So it is also with each of us.  Our joy is fulfilled in becoming that person God calls us to be, patterned after an image and likeness planted in us, our role in right-relatedness to Creator, to Christ.  For those of a certain generation who may recall this saying, this is what it means to "follow your bliss," and in the words of John the Baptist, to fulfill one's joy.  Let us do likewise, and each one of us rejoice to stand and hear the voice of the Bridegroom and fulfill our own roles in His Kingdom as we are called to do.  John's significant humility -- a part of his towering holiness in the image of the last and greatest prophet of Israel -- is key here, for without it, it is most hard to distinguish the Bridegroom's voice from that team of voices in the heart that come from all kinds of experiences of worldly life.  It is John, the radical ascetic with his vow of poverty in total dedication to God, that serves as the great model for the monastic life.  Let us hold in ourselves this image of humility before God, and endeavor do likewise.   For it is true for each of us, that "He must increase, but I must decrease" as we allow our Lord's grace to grow in us and teach us who we really are.  

 

 

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

 

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

 

- Matthew 17:1–13 

 

On Saturday we read that, from that time of Peter's confession, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; . . ..    My study Bible comments that a high mountain is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (Matthew 5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  The phrase after six days indicates that there were six days between the time of Peter's confession and Christ's warning that He will suffer and die, and this day of the event on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Therefore this is the "eighth day" from Peter's confession and Christ's first warning of His Passion and Resurrection, a significant understanding for the revelation of the Transfiguration.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  The first thing we're drawn to in this picture of the Transfiguration is the light that emanates from Christ.  It's a brilliance that we're drawn to in this language:  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  In 1 John 1:5 we're told that God is light, and in all the light expressed in the picture of this event we see a demonstration that Jesus is God.  My study Bible points out that in some icons this light is illustrated as beyond white -- a blue-white, ineffable color, which indicates its spiritual origin.  

 

 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."   Another sign of the Kingdom being extraordinarily present is the appearance of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ.  Time is suspended, for although these all lived in different time periods, they are simultaneously here together and speak with one another.  Moreover, St. Peter clearly perceives their identities as well, so all are known to one another (1 Corinthians 13:12).  Moses and Elijah also represent the Law and the Prophets, gathered together in the presence of Christ.  My study Bible adds that Moses represents the Law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  The law and the prophets, the living and the dead, therefore, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.   It is also an image of the communion of the saints, the reality of the kingdom of heaven, an affirmation of Christ's teaching that "all live to God" (Luke 20:38).  Peter's suggestion of making tabernacles is reminiscent of the feast of Sukkot, also called the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, commemorating the time Israel wandered in tents (or tabernacles, also called booths), following the bright cloud and pillar of fire toward the Promised Land. 

 

 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  Again there is an image of light int he bright cloud that overshadowed Christ and the disciples, and that bright cloud is also reminiscent of the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, a visible sign of God being extraordinarily present and reminder of temple worship.  Here, also, is the Holy Trinity, in the voice of the Father, testifying to God's beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit present in the dazzling light surrounding Christ, and the bright cloud overshadowing the whole mountain.  

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.  With their immediate apprehension of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words testifying that Elijah has come already, as referring to John the Baptist.  My study Bible says that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17) rather than to Elijah himself. 

In the power of the Transfiguration is revealed the divinity of Christ.  It is a strong affirmation of the confession of faith of St. Peter that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (found in Friday's reading), and it will also serve the disciples as an unforgettable image of Christ's divinity through the terrifying events that are to come at Christ's Passion.  As a Theophany it is a manifestation or appearance of God.  In Greek, this event of the Transfiguration is called Metamorphosis, indicating a change of form or appearance, as does the word "transfiguration."  So while this drastic, unforgettable change of appearance serves the disciples in a number of ways -- as revealing the true nature of Christ to them, and so much more that comes with Him and His divine nature -- so also we are called to be transfigured as well by Christ and by the divine power that works in Him and through our faith to reveal who we are in His image of us as well.  We watch through the Gospels and the life of the early Church through Acts and the Epistles the great change in the disciples, such as St. Peter, and we see the transfiguring power of faith in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit active in these men.  We learn of the early apostolic missions and even the transfiguration of the whole world through the work of establishing the early churches, and it speaks to us of the power of faith and God's work in the world and what it does.  So, indeed, the Transfiguration is a model about our faith in so many ways, and it teaches us so much.  Perhaps we should also think about how that model of Transfiguration is also at work within us and among us.  How has your life been changed through the practice of prayer and your own faith?  Do you find that your faith -- and Christ's transfiguring power -- has changed you?  How has your faith evolved in your life, and the work of the Holy Spirit worked in you and your own perceptions of life?  Do you see things in a different way than you used to?  For myself, I can particularly testify that over the course of decades my faith has truly changed many things in my outlook.  Much of what I write today would have been about things incomprehensible and inconceivable to me in the past, but the reality of the internal transfiguration of faith and Christ's work, and the mercy of the Holy Spirit -- even the communion of saints -- has worked in me to entirely transfigure my own outlook and way of seeing life.  This is been more despite me than any result of my own wishes or will; this has been the surprising journey of faith and the power of God.  If the Transfiguration has given us so much of the fullness of our faith and what it has to teach us, then one can only imagine what the transfiguring journey of faith means for us as communities, as individuals, and even for our world.  How can we know what our own true nature is until we can begin to see it through the eyes of the Creator who leads us and heals us?  Let us not forget that this also includes the communion of saints, and what their prayer with us has to offer.  These are just some of the things to think about when we come to the transfiguring light of Christ, and ponder why we are given these experiences of the disciples in our Scripture.  Metamorphosis is also a part of taking up one's own cross, even the suffering involved in letting go of the things God wants to change in us.  May we be blessed in God's light of illumination for us. 

 

 

 

And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove

 

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

 "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

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

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

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

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

 

- Mark 1:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the two disciples who had encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus were reporting their experience to the rest of them, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  My study Bible explains some of the terms in this first verse of Mark's Gospel.  Gospel is from a Greek word (εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) that means "good news" or "good tidings."  In the roman Empire, it was a word commonly used for proclamations by the Emperor.  Here, my study Bible says that it refers not to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry, especially the preparation by His forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him.  

As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  These quotations are from the Prophets Malachi and Isaiah, and they point to John the Baptist as fulfillment of these specific prophesies.  See Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3.   John's call to repentance is traditional for prophets.  His baptism is one for remission of sins, but cannot grant this once and for all.  It is instead a prefiguring and preparation for the baptism of Christ which is to come (see Romans 6:3-11).   These verses tell us at once how widely revered John the Baptist was as a holy man in Israel, for even 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.  Thus, John has made his mark on the awareness even of the powerful leadership establishment in the temple at Jerusalem.

 

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."  John himself is also a prophet, and he is considered to be the last and the greatest of the Old Testament type prophets.  His clothing is also a "type" of a prophet, for he is clothed in a manner similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), which helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return (see Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 11:13-15).  My study Bible explains that John the Baptist is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit ("put away") sin.  But both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin. 

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."  Note that Jesus comes from Nazareth of Galilee to this place where John baptizes in the Jordan near Judea.  Although Jesus does not need purification, He fulfills a great deal through His Baptism by John.  By making human baptism His own, He would wash away humanity's sin, grant regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity in this "theophany" (manifestation or appearance of God) of Father, Son, and Spirit.   My study Bible quotes St. Gregory of Nyssa:  "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

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.  In Matthew 4:1-10 and Luke 4:1-13 we can read a fuller version of the temptations to Jesus by Satan.  The word translated as drove literally means to cast or throw.

Right from the beginning we see Jesus' ministry completely bound up with the activity of the Holy Spirit in the world.  His first act is to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan, and at that Baptism, the Holy Spirit makes quite a dramatic appearance.   We're told that "immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove."   And then there is another immediate action by the Spirit:  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. It seems important to note all of this involvement by the Spirit, and it reminds us also that a prophet (such as John the Baptist) does not become a prophet except through the action of the Spirit also.  In the prophecy of Malachi quoted by John the Baptist, we read, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face" (Malachi 3:1).   Through whom else but the Holy Spirit does the Lord send prophets and messengers to the people?  Let us note also that in each of these example, the Holy Spirit participates with some sort of dramatic action.  The Spirit does not simply appear but rather descends upon Jesus like a dove.  In another dramatic action, the Holy Spirit does not simply direct or give instructions to Jesus to go to the wilderness, but rather acts.  The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness.  This tells us about God's active work in the world, God's participation in the world.  The action of the Holy Spirit also echoes what we are to do in our lives as Christians.  We're called not simply to believe, but to act as does the Holy Spirit.  We're called to live our faith by what we do in our lives, to put our faith into action, in the way that the Holy Spirit puts God's will and energy into action in these verses.  It's deeply significant that our first verses in Mark follow the final reading in Luke in our lectionary readings (see yesterday's reading, above).  For, just as we begin Christ's ministry with these actions of the Holy Spirit, so Jesus, in yesterday's reading, Jesus' final words to the disciples before blessing them and ascending to heaven are as follows:  "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  This Promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit.  And what is the action He promises?  They will be endued with power from on high.  In Acts 2 we read of the fulfillment of the sending of the Promise of the Father at Pentecost, and the action simply never seems to stop.  The apostles are endowed with the Holy Spirit, and tongues of fire appear above each one, even as each speaks in languages not their own, but in the tongues of those who hear the good news they preach.  St. Peter is inspired by the Spirit and preaches to the "men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem," teaching about Jesus and the fulfillment of prophecy, also given through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Peter preaches by giving them the words of the prophet Joel, also of David whose psalms prophesy of Christ.  When his audience asks what they should do, Peter responds telling them to be baptized and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Thousands are baptized, and the Church begins its growth.  But none of this action happens without the participation of the Holy Spirit, who acts among us and with us and through us.  Even the sound accompanying the fulfillment of this promise at Pentecost comes as one that suggests tremendous action:   it is "a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2).  The movement suggested here is unmistakable.  The word for Spirit means breath in both Hebrew and Greek, but this sound that accompanies the appearance of the Spirit, like a rushing mighty wind, and which fills the whole house with its noise, leaves no doubt of the experience of bold action and movement setting something in action, and meant for activity in the world.  Let us consider when we pray to the Spirit, when we look around at our world and see its state, what action we would like to see in the world.  What effects can this action like a mighty wind create?  What has the Holy Spirit created?  Are we aware of God's action in our lives?  Are we prepared for God's action in our lives?  Can we be like Christ, "thrown" by the Spirit into the actions God asks of us, endowed with the capacity to do as God would ask of us to participate in God's life in the world?  How do we live our own baptism, in which we die to the old life, and are born into the new through the Spirit?  How does the Spirit lead the action of a blessed way of life?