Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?

 

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

 

- Matthew 18:21-35 

 

 In yesterday's reading, after taking a little child before Him and pointing to him as the model for discipleship, Jesus taught the disciples, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

 

 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison will he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."  We must note that Jesus' parable in today's reading comes in response to St. Peter's question about how many times he should forgive a brother in the Church (see yesterday's reading for the context of Jesus' teaching on mutual correction in the Church, above; verses 15-20).   My study Bible explains that seventy times seven is symbolic of an unlimited amount.  It says that the parable illustrates the need for unlimited forgiveness.  A talent was a weight for precious metal, silver or gold.  A single talent was equivalent to 15 - 20 years of a working person's salary.  Ten thousand talents, therefore, is a virtually impossible sum.  It's more than any laborer could earn in several lifetimes.  By comparison, a hundred denarii (about three months' wages) is a significant amount from an earthly perspective, but it's tiny compared to the debt that was owed the king.  My study Bible comments that God stays the punishment we deserve, but forgives us the entire debt as well.  Because God forgives us, we in turn are required to grant the gift of forgiveness to others.  Additionally, there are certain patristic teachers who give a spiritual interpretation to the punishment described in the final verse of today's reading.  In this understanding, the man represents the soul, the wife represents the body, and the children represent a person's deeds.  Therefore, in this perspective, the body and the deeds are given over to slavery -- that is, to Satan -- so that the soul might possibly be saved (see 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

 

 In yesterday's commentary, we discussed forgiveness in the context of Christ's teaching on mutual correction in the Church, and His parable of the lost sheep (see above).  In that parable, it was clear that for God, even one stray sheep out of one hundred was worth every extra effort to find and to retrieve back to the fold.  And so, in today's reading, St. Peter follows up on Jesus' teachings regarding mutual correction by asking a reasonable question.  How many times should this process take place?  If you go through difficulties with a person once, twice, three times, or more, how many times should one forgive?  Keep in mind that in Jesus' structure of correction and forgiveness, repentance also played a role before forgiveness.  This is not a "Get out of jail free" type of system.  It is not simply a means by which abusive or sinning behavior may continue without consequences.  (Indeed, Christ's final instructions in this system of correction were, "But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector").  So this is a system of dialogue in an expanding circle to finally include the whole Church where the original one who sinned against another refuses to hear, or not.  But St. Peter wants to know more.  "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  There must be a reasonable tenure to this process.  But Jesus' answer sets us in a place where we're asked (as is so often the case) to see things from a much bigger perspective than our own.  For this correcting (and healing) process is to take place not from the perspective of simply establishing good or colloquial relations, and not simply from our perspective as earthly individuals in a community.  This community expands far beyond simply our Church, in the sense that the Church is always in the context of God's salvation plan for all things.  For we cannot separate the Church into atomized pieces, nor can we distance the Church into some abstract organization outside of its establishment and purposes.  The Church, in the Eastern Christian tradition, has always been seen as a hospital; indeed, Christ affirms this when He calls Himself a physician ("Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" - Matthew 9:11-13).  So, in keeping also with the parable of the lost sheep of yesterday's reading, we must keep in mind that the system of mutual correction, and Christ's answer to St. Peter's question in today's reading, are also told with this salvation plan in mind.  That is, a salvation plan "for the life of the world" (John 6:33, 51).  So, Jesus' answer to St. Peter, prescribing an infinite number of times forgiveness through such a process if necessary, is given with this infinite process of salvation in mind.  The parable reinforces this, for the impossibly infinite-like sum of money owed to the master (that is, to God), simply can't compare to anything we're asked to give -- or to "give up" as the word for forgiveness indicates.  We're also, in this parable, asked to be "like" our Master; we we are made in God's image and are to manifest our likeness in our own conduct (Genesis 1:26).  Moreover, as the parable also makes abundantly clear, there's only one Master, the ultimate authority over all of us.  The Church is the house of the Master; we are God's servants, children by adoption.  We are to be "like God," that is, the Lord, who is the author of life and of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  To paraphrase a popular expression, "His house, His rules."  Only these rules define for us the essence of righteousness, right-relatedness, that which we also name justice.  Let us take it to heart.  Remember God's purview and aims, the salvation of all.  Let us understand the life we're given, and how we're to participate in the place God gives us, for the life and salvation of the world.

 

 

 

 

Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

 

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

 

- Mark 12:13–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A men planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

 

  Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  My study Bible explains that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and therefore willing servants of Rome.  This question is design to entrap Jesus in either way He might answer.  A "yes" answer would turn the people against Him, for whom the Roman taxation and occupation were onerous.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  We should keep in mind also that our lives aren't divided into the secular and the sacred -- God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  Paying taxes and other civil duties aren't detrimental to holiness.  

 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  The Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  My study Bible explains that they held many high offices in Israel, and so controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  They were different from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent and adapted to the presence of the Romans.  According to my study Bible, the Sadducees interpreted the law even more rigidly than the Pharisees and differed from them also in that they rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem.  

 

 In today's reading, we get both the question from the pro-Roman Herodians and one from the landowning, aristocratic Sadducees.  In both of these testing inquiries of Jesus, we observe a materialistic perspective, and one that we might say is not very spiritual.  That is, the first question is designed to trap Jesus around questions of money and taxes.  Jesus' response focuses in upon the coin or currency itself, as if to shape a perspective on a clear vision of what it means to pay and owe taxes to the state -- and what our duties are to God.  The contrast regarding which authority has domain over which area becomes the crux to Jesus' answer.  Whose image is printed on the coin, minted by the realm of Caesar?  So to return the taxes to Caesar is fitting.  But what belong to God?  And where is God's image?  Our whole lives are under the domain of God, and we are made in God's image, therefore our primary loyalty is to God.  We perhaps should keep in mind that these coins weren't allowed in the temple as they bore the image of Caesar, who was worshiped as a god (see Jesus' cleansing of the temple, including the tables of the money changers, in Monday's reading).  The Sadducees. landowning aristocrats, so to speak, of the Jewish society, with inherited positions and control of the temple, also posit a question with a rather materialistic perspective.  Because they didn't believe in resurrection, nor did their Scriptures include anything but the Torah or Law (the first five books of the Old Testament), they lack a spiritual orientation (neither did they believe in the existence of angels) and general perspective on the reality of the spiritual realm.  Thus, Jesus says to them, "You do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God," and they are therefore mistaken.  He explains of those in the resurrection, "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken." So their materialist perspective renders them mute and blind, in a sense, to the true reality of life as it exists in the fuller picture of God's creation, including the angels, the spiritual realm, the resurrection -- and the transformation possible for human beings in the resurrection.  Their blindness extends to their understanding of Scriptures, for they do not understand the meaning of God's words to Moses at the burning bush:  "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."   Additionally, we're given to understand, through Christ's words, that where the Sadducees with their materialist perspective see only death, the true God proclaims life:  "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  In our modern age, it's quite tempting to adopt such a "down to earth" (so to speak) "materialist" position.  We can just accept the rules as they're taught to us through Scripture, follow them, and leave every other question to either unknowing, or as in this case, scoffing or ridiculing.  But Christ's fuller picture shows us the power of God, and the depth of meaning of the Scriptures, for it shows us the true fullness of life -- and that life is not limited simply to a worldly perspective.  Our real job in life isn't just to collect fortunes and do well materially; neither is it simply to produce offspring or expand the material or political power and property we have in life.  Our job is faith, and that includes the fullness of life as abundance we can't necessarily see, but nevertheless must keep in mind.  For if there is a resurrection, and if God is truly the God of the living, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all who come before and after us, if angels do live and work among us, if Christ is who He claims He is, then we are all in a world of unimaginable beauty and transcendent goodness -- which calls us to live according to that greater sense of God's kingdom.  In the course of the past two readings, we've had opportunity to discuss prayer and seeking God's will in Monday's reading and commentary (as in the Lord's Prayer, we pray to our Father in heaven, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"), and also the topic of prophets and prophecy in yesterday's reading and commentary.  These men who question Jesus, the Herodians and the Sadducees, understand neither, as they are bereft of these teachings through their exclusion of them.  It was Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded at his wife's request and through his own extravagant oath at a party; the Sadducees wish to retain their power and places but will be scattered at the Siege of Jerusalem.  Perhaps we should consider, in terms of Jesus' fuller picture of life, what this does to add to our own choices and considerations in our lives, how we are blessed, and how we must see all that we do in this perspective and through the lens of the life of the Kingdom.  For all that we do has a greater impact and importance than we think; we walk even among the great cloud of witnesses who belong to it all and among whom all live to God.

 

 

 

 

 

With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible

 

 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

 

 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  

 

Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Mark 10:17–31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And he took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

 

  Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus, but to seek advice from one he considers no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's response doesn't deny that He is God, but is meant to lead this rich young man to such knowledge.  

 

 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Formal observance of commandments, my study Bible says, does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but he still lacks something, and for this answer he has come to Jesus. 

 

 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.   Let us make careful note first of the text telling us that Jesus, looking at him, loved him.  So, Christ's teaching here comes from His own perfect love.  There is only one thing this man lacks.  My study Bible comments that in order to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained except if this sacrifice is given freely.  Importantly, the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  In this case, his wealth and possessions had a great grip on this man; such was his attachment that his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions, as they formed a kind of stumbling block to the depth of relationship to God he sought.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To take up the cross and to follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  

 

  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."   My study Bible reports that various interpretations have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  For example, that the word was not camel, but rope (as these sound alike in Aramaic); or that the eye of a needle was the name for a city gate through which a camel might possibly squeeze if it were first unburdened of all its baggage (symbolizing wealth).  In the Talmud, we're told, there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  Whatever this phrase is a reference to, it's an expression of the impossibility of salvation for people who are attached to riches.  My study Bible says this is most clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible with human beings can come to be.

 

 Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."   My study Bible notes that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses or abandon children.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it says, this is a reference to keeping faith under persecution, even if it means losing one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual sense.  That is, fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, houses of worship and fellowship.  

 

Christ speaks of taking up the cross, and following Him.  In this instance, He has just spoken to a well-meaning young man who has many possessions, and truly desires the kingdom of God.  This man has kept the commandments from his youth and is sincere.  But his many possessions are the one thing which keeps him from eternal life.  Why would this be?  We can speculate that perhaps his family name and identity are interlinked with those possessions.  Very commonly in Christ's society, high priestly families formed a part of an aristocratic landowning class.  Perhaps he is one of them.  Since he is called a "rich young ruler" in many versions of the Gospels, we can easily assume his possessions are inherited family wealth, and moreover he shares a position among the ruling families, perhaps in Jerusalem toward which Jesus is now setting out on the road.  It's quite easily possible that any such connections with this young man's "many possessions" could hinder him from freely following Christ.  Whatever the reason, this is Christ's teaching for him, His first commandment should he become a disciple.  The fact that he cannot do so teaches us that in taking up one's cross there is nothing that should stand in the way between us and Christ -- for if there is, we will not get to the goal of eternal life.  The disciples are at first stunned.  "Who then can be saved?" they ask.  Perhaps our first and greatest consideration of today's text should be a reflection on Jesus' words in reply:   "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."   People frequently take these words out of context, to apply them to miracles of manifestation, things which are materially impossible.  But we forget that Jesus is speaking of another kind of miraculous occurrence, and that is salvation itself.  The thing that is impossible with men, but not with God, is the saving grace that transforms us from those who are attached to all of our worldly ideas and circumstances, we who find it so hard to change, into those whom Christ would ask us to become and to be born into eternal life.  For this is what salvation is -- this is what it means to be saved in the context of Christ's words and teachings in our reading today.  When the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" they are referring to those for whom possessions are not a burden nor obstacle in following Christ, who can take up their crosses as He will, and follow Him.  This is what becomes possible with God which is impossible by human effort alone.  For if God is with us, all things become possible -- even those seemingly impossible things which God asks of us.  The disciples themselves say they have left all behind for Him, and in front of them is the long, long road of discipleship and apostleship, in which they will venture with the gospel message of salvation into all the known world.  Indeed their houses and relatives will continue to multiply into the future, even as they do now across the whole world -- houses of worship, mothers and father in the Church, brothers and sisters among the faithful.  Jesus says these things will come with persecutions, as they do even today for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.  That many who are first will be last, and the last first remains our warning for humility and patience in the long road of salvation, which is much greater and far-encompassing than you or I can know.  But we can put faith in Him that what He teaches is true, even as we ourselves find mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and houses in the Church -- even that what we thought impossible becomes possible.  

 

 

 

 

 

For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 

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

 

- Luke 20:27–40 

 

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

 

  Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."   But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  The Sadducees imagine that the concept of resurrection frames an extension of earthly life, but they are mistaken.  Jesus explains that there is no earthly marriage in the resurrection, for those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  Moreover, the Sadducees do not comprehend the Scriptures, for in the burning bush passage (Exodus 3:1-6) it's indicated that Abraham and his sons are alive in God, even though they are physically dead.  My study Bible adds that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.  

The Sadducees were a wealthy landowning class, who formed a kind of aristocracy around Jerusalem.  They did not believe in the resurrection, nor in angels, but followed only the first five books of Scripture; that is, the Pentateuch, or Torah.  Thus, in some sense, their question here reflects their perspective.  We could even note the importance of worldly inheritance and authority in the question.  As their faith was limited to the Scriptures containing the Law of Moses, we see also the importance of Moses' command regarding offspring.  But they rejected the oral traditions of the Pharisees, and the prophets and historical writings as authoritative.  They formed the inherited priestly caste, especially the high priests, and thus assumed many roles within the temple.  They were also favorable to compromise with the Romans.  Thus, their question to Jesus frames a worldly perspective, without the understanding of a life beyond this world in which existence is not the same as we understand it and live it.  It's in a sense ironic that in it is in Jesus' answer to this particular question, and to these particular men, we receive a great teaching about the resurrection, and the life of the resurrection.  Jesus teaches us that first of all, those in the resurrection are the ones who are counted worthy to attain that age.  By that "age," Jesus means a different era of time, not the present age in which we live.  So the first thing Christ indicates is that the resurrection is for those counted worthy of that life.  Jesus explains clearly that in this age, marriage such as we know it does not exist.  Moreover, those who dwell in this age cannot die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  So, we're given a picture of immortality, and a role, perhaps, which is in some way equal to the angels.  This gives us a picture of a kind of realization of potentials inherent within human beings for a different, and changed, role in the whole perspective of creation itself.  Jesus describes this as equal to the angels, which perhaps gives us the sense of something akin to the angels but not replacing them or their roles.  To be sons of God and sons of the resurrection is in some sense to be perhaps something "like" the angels, and equal to the angels as Jesus says.  But these terms indicate offspring, and heirs; that is, to be both inheritors and products of this special status of those counted worthy.  They indicate a rebirth into something new, and changed, with characteristics that make for a different and new life for those who come into it.  Jesus gives us these intriguing hints, in response to the Sadducees, indicating for all of us that there are hints that were always there in the Scriptures, if one  knows how to read them and to understand them, to see into them.  For all of these things -- for the attainment of the resurrection, for that new life in that new age, for the understanding of the Kingdom which Christ invites us into, to be "sons" of the resurrection and of God -- we need the spiritual eyes and ears to perceive what is there, already hidden in the ancient Scriptures.  Jesus will continually call people to such spiritual sight and hearing, echoing the words from Isaiah, "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive" (Isaiah 6:9).  Jeremiah echoes the same call to those who cannot perceive, "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear" (Jeremiah 5:21).  God keeps calling us to this new and resurrected life, the life of the age to come, one in which there is a role for humanity equal to the angels, immortal life, and one prepared for us by Christ who ascended with His human flesh and bearing the scars of the Crucifixion.  For what does He prepare us?  We can but take this glimmer, and follow the path He set out for us to get us there, to make us sons of the resurrection, and sons of God.  "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." 

 

 

 

Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me

 

 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed you."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many ties more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

 

- Luke 18:15–30 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

  Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  My study Bible comments that infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  It quotes the commentary of Theophylact:  "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity." 

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God."  My study Bible comments that this young ruler comes to Christ not to test Him, but to seek advice from one he considers no more than a good Teacher.  Jesus' response does not deny that He is God, but is rather designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge. 

"You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."   According to my study Bible, normal observance of commandments doesn't make a person righteous before God.  

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  To be perfect, my study Bible notes, one must willingly sacrifice all follow Christ.  Nothing is gained, it says, unless this sacrifice is given freely.  Importantly, it notes that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  Because wealth had such a grip on this rich man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom says that to give away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling. 

 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."   My study Bible tells us that there have been various interpretations suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some have saig that the word was not camel, but a word that means "rope" in Aramaic; or that the eye of a needle was the name for a city gate so small that a camel might barely squeeze only if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  The Talmud uses the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  My study Bible comments that, whatever this phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  It says that this is clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  Yet by God's grace, even what is impossible to human beings can come to pass.  

 

  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and fallowed you."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many ties more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."  My study Bible indicates that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it notes, this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  Moreover, it means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but in a spiritual sense -- the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

Jesus gives us an image of the Cross in today's reading.  It is the Cross that leads to life, and in teaching this rich young ruler to sell his great possessions, and distribute them to the poor, Jesus is teaching this man about eternal life, and how to find it.  Even though he is perfect in following the commandments, this alone will not give him the eternal life he asks for.  St. Mark's Gospel tells us that, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him" (Mark 10:21) as He gives this advice to sell what he has and give to the poor.  We have come across this idea already several times in Luke's Gospel, regarding this type of exchange in which the good that we do in this world through charitable help to the poor becomes a currency of wealth in the kingdom of God, a treasure in the heavens.  As such, Jesus teaches this rich man the same principle.  But. St. Chrysostom also has an important contribution to make here in this particular case, when he suggests that to give away his possessions is the least of the commands of Christ; and indeed, this is, in the telling of the story, merely the first stepping stone to following Christ for this young ruler.  There's a popular expression one may have heard, that it's not in having possessions that there is danger, but in those possessions having us.  That is, it's more than likely that this man's possessions are linked to his status in his society and even an inherited wealth, for he is a ruler as described in the Gospel.  This may indicate that he was from one of the priestly landowning classes in Jesus' society of the time, a young member of the ruling Council, with inherited wealth being integral to his identity.  Jesus will know what will be required of His followers when He is persecuted and sent to the Cross, and what will come after His Passion.  Therefore, to be truly free to follow Christ, this young ruler would quite likely have to be free enough to leave behind the same things St. Peter and the apostles have, and will go on to leave after Pentecost when the gospel is spread to all the world.  In this quite tangible sense, this young ruler must allow himself to be freed of his great possessions to truly follow Christ in all things.  My study Bible is wise to suggest that the cross of each one of us is separate; each one will find things that bind us and form a stumbling block to following where Christ leads us to go -- and I would venture to say that each one must make that sacrifice in order to be truly free to do so (see John 8:32).  Finally, let us consider the love we're called to with Christ.  This is a love that asks total trust, and the freedom to truly love.  One sacrifices for what one truly loves, whether that be a spouse, a child, a parent who needs care, a friend, or a loved one of any kind.  Christ calls us to a depth of relationship of this type of reliance and of love.  He will go to the Cross out of love for each one of us; our love in return will be given with our own sacrifices from the heart, and in so doing we find ourselves, that our joy may be full.
 

 

And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just

 

 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  

 

Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'  But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'  

 

"So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"

 

- Luke 14:12-24 

 

On Saturday, we read that it happened, as Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."  My study Bible comments that this instruction is based on the manner in which God treats us, although not one of us could possibly repay God (see Luke 6:30-36).  Regarding Christ's words, "you shall be repaid," see Luke 10:34-35.

 

 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  My study Bible comments that this man unwittingly declares the ultimate beatitude.  The truth in his words can come only through an understanding of the bread to be eternal communion with God.  

Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'"  Here Jesus begins a parable which operates on two levels.  My study Bible says that these two levels illustrate both the fist and second coming of Christ.  He is the servant who's sent to gather many.  Supper is an indication that it is evening; in other words, the end of the age.  The people who are first invited are the Jews, then all humankind. 

 

"But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'"  My study Bible explains that in patristic commentary these three excuses are seen as having both a literal and spiritual meaning.  The literal meaning is that many are too attached to worldly cares to accept the Kingdom of God (Luke 8:14, 14:26, 18:29).  St. Ambrose, it says, sees the three excuses of I cannot come as representing Gentiles, Jews, and heretics.  The Gentile is devoted to earthly wealth represented by the piece of ground, the Jew's enslavement to the five books of the Law by the five yoke of oxen, and the heretic's espousal of error by the man refusing on account of his wife.  Theophylact, however, more generally associates these excuses with people devoted to earthly concerns, to things which pertain to the five sense, and to all the pleasures of the flesh.  

"So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"   Here my study Bible comments that those in the streets and lanes indicate first, the Gentiles who accepted Christ after the faithless Jews rejected Him, and second, those outside the Church replacing those within who have rejected their own baptism.  The apostles would be sent out into the streets and lanes and highways and hedges of all the world, to preach the gospel. and their successors continue.

 

On Saturday, we read the first part of Christ's teaching to the people who sat at table with Him in the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  In it, He taught about humility, and the need for a guest to display humility.  In the first part of today's reading, He continues by addressing His teaching to hosts:  "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."  This parable also teaches us about humility, but in a different sense.  He asks those who are in a position to host others to consider condescension -- not in the colloquial way we have of speaking that renders condescension an act of smug superiority, but in the sense that to be gracious is the highest and best prerogative of those in a position to host others.  That is, those with wealth and position enough to do so.  In the West, we are mostly affluent enough so that inviting others to a dinner or supper is common; nor is it required of us to be an ostentatious occasion.  But nevertheless, Christ's teaching applies to all of us.   Just imagine, instead of inviting people we hope to receive something back from, we invite those who have no way to repay us.  Jesus teaches these impressive guests at the dinner in the ruler's house to invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  These are people who don't have much status to offer in return to those who invite them to their table as guests.  These are the people who, in Christ's time. would certainly find it difficult to earn much wealth or status in the society.  But Jesus gives a deeper hint here of an important principle that is more than our conventional understanding of laudable acts of charity.  Jesus is teaching us a principle that hooks us in to even the mysteries of the Cross, and one that plays a role in each of our lives and where we will spend an eternity at the resurrection of the just.  In this teaching, He gives us a mystery of what it is to sacrifice; that is, to give something up for the sake of the kingdom of God, and for love of the Lord.  In essence, He's teaching us that this is a kind of investment, something that is stored in "money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys" (Luke 12:33).  This is what the Cross is all about, it is the deepest mystery of how we can give something for the Kingdom and reap what God gives us in return, and in this sense we will be blessed in the depth of that mystery.  For we are all meant to take up our own crosses in following Him, and each has a harvest of repayment in ways we don't know and cannot foresee.  This is how we put our heart in the place it needs to be:  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34).  St. Chrysostom taught a lot about understanding our wealth as that which also belongs, in God's sight, in the stomachs of the poor, giving thought to more than what we can acquire purely for ourselves.  It's God's logic to find our treasure where God's blessedness is for us, in the places where we follow Christ's word first.  This is how we will eat bread in the kingdom of God. 

 

 

With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible

 

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Matthew 19:23-30 

 

Yesterday we read that little children were brought to Jesus that He might put His hands on the and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on the and departed from there.  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  My study Bible notes that there have been various interpretations offered for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Perhaps, for example, the word was not "camel," but rather "rope" (a word that sounds alike in Aramaic).  Another has been suggested that the "eye of a needle" was the name of a city gate through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  Even the Talmud has an expression, "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But whatever this phrase refers to, it shows the impossibility of salvation for those attached to riches.  The astonished disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" reflecting this understanding.  But by God's grace, even the things that are impossible to human beings can come to be.

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."   On a similar passage in Luke's Gospel (Luke 22:30), my study Bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  It notes that the apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but rather by the witness of their own lives.  Since God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, my study Bible notes, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  Here my study Bible notes that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandoning children.  It notes the commentary of St. John Chrysostom here, in which St. Chrysostom comments that this refers to keeping faith under persecution -- even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Additionally, believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual sense; that is, the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

St. Ambrose's statement regarding judgment is an important one to take a closer look at.  It's quite simple and short, but it teaches us something very profound.  He comments, "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  There are two elements of this kind of judgment here; that is, the type of judgment which the disciples are being groomed to understand and to use.  This is the kind of judgment that can only come through participation in the life of Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit.  My study Bible elaborates that the apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but rather by the witness of their own lives.  So let us take this together with St. Ambrose's comment, as quoted by my study Bible.  The first part of St. Ambrose's comment speaks of learning discernment, spiritual judgment concerning faith.  This truly depends upon what is often referred to as spiritual experience, for which the Orthodox Church venerates what are called spiritual elders.  That is, those with spiritual maturity gained through deep experience in the struggle for faith.  As my study Bible notes, this is not "earthly judgment" but spiritual judgment.  It is not judging according to appearances and all that is contained in appearance, but by the hard-learned lessons of spirit and soul, in the heart of faith.  St. Ambrose then mentions rebuking error with virtue, and this also is rooted in spiritual struggle, the spiritual struggle also known as "unseen warfare."  To rebuke error with virtue involves an awareness that the true judgment is not our own, but rather God's judgment.  And so, keeping that in mind, to live through virtue, through the works that are the fruit of the Spirit, the product of the spiritual life, is in itself to appeal to that judgment.  The witness to God's interior work within us will be those fruits of virtue that in themselves act as a kind of judgment, a witness against all that stands against the kingdom of heaven.  In the lives of the saints, we see this played out.  A martyr is a witness (quite literally, for this word μάρτυς/martyr means "witness" in the Greek of the New Testament), simply through the exercise of faith even to the point of death.  Such an act of supreme virtue is itself testimony against those (which may include the spiritual forces of evil) who hate the truth of Christ, and oppose the exercise of faith.  To rebuke error with virtue is in itself the judgment of the saints, the witness of their lives, as my study Bible puts it.  And so we should seek to do likewise.  For through this struggle for faith, even the capacity to sacrifice in order to more fully live our faith and this life of virtue suggested here, we root the kingdom of heaven more truly in this world.  It does not take an act of earthly warfare or earthly judgment to wage spiritual struggle, the "unseen warfare" of spiritual battle.  It takes living virtue, for in so doing, error is rebuked through the true judgment that lives in Christ and which is always present spiritually for all of us, whether we realize it or not.  In order to truly take this in, one must accept that there is the spiritual dimension to life, the Holy Spirit who is "everywhere present" according to an Orthodox prayer.  When we witness by living virtue, by following our faith even to the point of sacrifice (small or great), we witness to the Judge who is always with us, who told us in a recent reading, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  Therefore, to practice virtue, to work the works of God by living our faith and through prayerful lives, we witness and thereby bring judgment into the world.  In living our faith, we gain spiritual experience and therefore discernment, and we build God's kingdom in this world.  So let us pause and imagine what a great responsibility this is, and how much God shares with us by allowing us to participate in Christ's life through living our faith, to participate in the life of the Kingdom.  For, as indicated in yesterday's reading (see above), Christ asks us for "treasures in heaven."  In this way, we build His kingdom in our world.  This understanding of how judgment works illuminates another aspect of Jesus' statement, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 

 

 

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

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they nether marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 

 

- Matthew 22:23–33 

 

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

 

  The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they nether marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.   My study Bible explains that, in telling the Sadducees, "You are mistaken," Jesus confirms that there will be a resurrection -- but it will be nothing like what they are imagining.  These Sadducees consider the concept of resurrection to mean a simple continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage) and so they mock the doctrine they imagine with an absurd scenario.  However, as Jesus asserts, they are ignorant of the Scriptures, for in them is a revelation of complete transformation of resurrectional life.  Thus, with an understanding of the Scriptures, their question becomes irrelevant.  Moreover, my study Bible says, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God, even when they are physically dead.  My study Bible tells us, "It is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection."

It's important to understand that the perspective and religious outlook of the Sadducees is itself rather earthly in emphasis, in the sense that they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (that is, the Pentateuch, or Torah), and were quite literal in their interpretation of the Law.  They were major landowners around the city of Jerusalem, and so were a type of aristocratic class.  They were also from the priestly class and controlled many functions in temple.  In terms of the Council they were the party that formed the chief rivals to the Pharisees, and rejected many of the Pharisees interpretations of the Law.  They neither believed in the existence of angels or the resurrection of the dead (both of which were accepted by the Pharisees).  So, in terms of their very "earthly" orientation -- which we might say contrasts to a more spiritual or mystical outlook of Judaism -- their question essentially makes sense.  Given their orientation, it is little wonder they form a question that must be answered in terms of property and even inheritance.  Their very anti-mystical orientation perhaps forms the framework for this question, as well as Jesus' response that they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.  In fact, Christ's answer affirms for us the essential importance of the understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the role the Holy Spirit plays in our faith.  For without the "power of God" how would we have Scriptures?  How would we have the work of the prophets?  (For the Creed confesses that the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets.)  How would we truly have proper interpretation or understanding of the Scriptures?  And clearly, we would not understand the power of God to transform life in the Resurrection --  and like the Sadducees, we could not understand the salvific role of angels in the entire economy of the cosmos and as part of Creation.  So, as far as Christ's response is concerned, because the Sadducees' perspective is so "earthly" in this sense, their understanding and respect for Scripture is lacking, and therefore their knowledge of spiritual truth is also lacking.  They do not understand the nature of the Resurrection for this reason.  It brings us back to the important mystical component of our faith.  Without it we cannot understand the meaning and power of sacrament, nor that Scripture is a kind of literature that is not just "literal," but must be understood with a prayerful perspective, and one hopefully guided by the holy prayerful figures who came before us, especially the holy Fathers and Mothers who guided the Church in her early centuries and those who followed in their footsteps.  We have an incredible treasury of beauty, knowledge, wisdom, and truth -- but none of it is properly understood except with this spiritual, mystical perspective to set us in the right place for our own receptivity to it.  Let us consider the beauty and mystery especially of this Nativity season as we enter into it, and the roles played by angels, holy men and women, people of wisdom who seek the Child they know will be born, and all the roles played by those wise and aged to the young shepherds, to the angels who proclaim to them the glory of God.  For without all of that our faith would be much poorer indeed.

 

For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 

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

 

- Luke 20:27–40 

 

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

 

  Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  My study Bible explains that the Sadducees were members of the high-priestly and landowning class around Jerusalem, forming a type of aristocracy.  They controlled the temple and internal political affairs of the Jews, holding many high offices.  They denied the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels, and had no messianic hope beyond earthly life.  They interpreted the Law even more strictly than did the Pharisees.  My study Bible comments that here Christ confirms that there will be a resurrection.  But it is not of the sort that the Sadducees imagine.  They think the resurrection is meant to be a continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage), and so they mock this doctrine with an absurd scenario.  But, as Jesus says, they are ignorant of the Scriptures, which reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, rendering their questions irrelevant.  Moreover, they don't understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  My study Bible says that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

Today's passage gives us a bit of a glimpse into the state of religious life at the time of Christ.  Note that it includes at the conclusion of Christ's response to the Sadducees that the scribes tell Him, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  It's good to understand the difference between the different classes in the temple, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, for their emphasis and outlook differed from one another, and there were disputes over the principles of the Law and interpretation of Scripture, even among the Pharisees themselves.  So Judaism and the state of religious practice and understanding was not a monolith, but one in which there was vigorous debate over the issues of the time (notably, divorce was one of those subjects of debate).  The Sadducees, as a landowning aristocratic class, and in contrast to the Pharisees, adapted to the presence of the Romans.  Their focus was much more "earthly," indeed.  So this question about the man, his wife, and seven brothers comes in that context -- and we can see its "earthly" emphasis, and concerns with inheritance and, essentially, ownership.  There is also the matter of Scriptural understanding and interpretation.  In Matthew's version of this scenario, Jesus' first criticism of the Sadducees is about their lack of spiritual and Scriptural knowledge.  He says to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29).  So, in this understanding, we can look at Christ's response in yesterday's reading (above), in which He refuses to be pinned down to choose between two sides of a dilemma, and see something similar happening here.  Jesus not only offers more insight about resurrection, but He also brilliantly shows a proper interpretation of Scripture, referring to the declaration of God to Moses, "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (see Exodus 3:1-5, 15).  In the declaration of God's name (I AM) also is the present tense understanding of existence in the resurrection, "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." It is this understanding of interpreting and reading the Scripture which the scribes praise with admiration when they say, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  It's an important lesson to understand the diversity that even existed in the temple at this time, in which many questions were debated and considered (even, if we look at literature of the period, the notion that God may have consisted of more than one Person).  But, like those in yesterday's reading (see above) who sought to trick Him said in their attempt at flattery, Jesus is one who says and teaches rightly, and does not show personal favoritism, but teaches the way of God in truth, and we are meant to emulate Him.  It doesn't matter what "sides" there are, Jesus does not give in to a dilemma, to following a political party of one sort or another, to twisting religious truth to match one side or another in a debate, or to curry favor with either Sadducee or Pharisee or scribe or anyone else.  Jesus tells the truth, and He won't skimp on His mission of bringing the gospel to the people, and the spiritual truth to the world -- and that's what He does.  Whether He is telling the Sadducees that they don't know the Scripture, or giving a concise and brilliant exegesis of what it means that God "is" the God of the living, He tells the truth, and His goal is not challenging the Sadducees nor impressing the scribes.  He tells the truth when it is the time to do so, and He says what is needed.  So let us attempt in our lives to put God first, and in that context, say and do what we need to say and do, and leave off what is unnecessary.  Let's not look for unnecessary debates, or missions that seem to have nothing to do with where God would call us, or with even being the person God calls us to be.  Let us learn to be like Him.  For what other reason did He come into this world but to teach us to do so?  Let us learn from Him, and be like Him.  If we observe carefully, Jesus is surrounded by people who feel they have a lot to lose, and so do not want to change anything.  The Sadducees hold tightly to their own inherited wealth and positions and cannot understand Scripture nor its interpretation as Christ shows them, but also the Pharisees and scribes -- who have more perspectives in common with Jesus than the others do -- cling to their own places and their hypocrisy, and Jesus will reserve His strongest criticism for them.  But Jesus asks us to resist such impulses and hold fast to what is more important, to our faith and to loving God, and follow that where it leads us, follow Him.  This applies to us today as much as it did to the ones to whom Jesus speaks, who would face such terrible losses within a generation.  Let us learn from Him, as Jesus teaches Himself, that God "is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Let us be like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and live our faith, here and now.  Let us be those for whom our God is the God of the living and not the dead, for of such is the kingdom of God, and we live to Him.