Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up and it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.   And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.'"

 

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 

- Mark 4:1–20 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus and the disciples went into a house, the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up and it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Today's reading marks another turning point in Christ's public ministry.  On Monday, we read that Jesus appointed twelve of His disciples to be with Him and also to be sent out on apostolic missions.  This marked a turning point in the sense that Christ's ministry has expanded so that people come from the Jewish populations all around the different nearby regions to hear Him, including the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  Here the multitudes have grown so that now Jesus begins teaching in parables.  His words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" echoes Old Testament Scripture, particularly the prophets (see, for example, Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Deuteronomy 29:4).  These words, and the nature of the parables, let us know that Christ is looking for those who will come to Him by faith, and not simply by the impression of His miraculous signs and healings.  Jesus' question suggests we need spiritual eyes and ears to sense the truth in His parables.

 

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.   And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"  My study Bible comments that parables are stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  The images in the parables are drawn from daily life common to people at that time (and still today) in order to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  My study Bible adds that parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  So, Christ's statement here, that "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" might also be translated as saying ". . . all things come in riddles." Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this quotation does not mean that God has blinded people or made them deaf to spiritual perception, but that God permits people their self-chosen blindness, and gives people up to their own devices (Romans 1:24, 26).  

 

 And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  My study Bible comments that in this parable, the Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower, who was foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

If we look at the details of this simple parable, as explained by Jesus, we find touching and gentle language that is nevertheless right on target in terms of the images Jesus gives us.  He gives us images of the word as seed, snatched by the wayside from the hearts of those who can't retain it, as if Satan is a great black bird that takes up the seeds of help from hapless human beings.   These are those off the path needed for Christ.  Then there is the image of stony ground, which immediately gives us a sense of the difficulties of planting, tilling the soil and working it, finding good ground.  It gives us a sense of that which is hard, and resists the word taking root.  It echoes Christ's repeated words teaching us about "hard heartedness" -- a failure to repent or to open one's heart to truth, a stubborn desire to remain untouched by Christ's words.  Tribulation or persecution will deter any such root from taking place, for then love and commitment are asked for, a sacrifice is asked for, and hard-heartedness does not practice love and often remains simply self-interested.  Then there are the seeds sown among thorns.  How menacing is the idea of thorns and their painful effects; indeed it echoes the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus' head at His Crucifixion.  Jesus speaks of things we are all-too-familiar with in the modern world, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.  These simple words speak of the temptations that are all around us, the need to keep up with "the neighbors" or our social status we seek, the things everybody else seems to be chasing or already have gotten for themselves, and the riches that don't fulfill us but which we find ourselves chasing anyway -- deceiving us into thinking they can fix all problems.  The constant desire for things we don't have is continually stoked through social media and advertising of many kinds; human beings seem to have a constant eye upon what they don't have, or what others have and we decide that we perhaps should want.  There is a social effect termed "mimetic rivalry" that is based on the desire to attain what others seem to have, which may develop from an inspiration to become like them (to mimic them in this sense), but culminate simply in a desire to replace and topple them in one form or another.  This type of social competition can indeed act like thorns that choke out every other priority, subsuming love and loyalty, and most certainly the desire to please God by loving neighbor as oneself.  Indeed, in Jesus' parable, they choke out the very word of God itself.  These vivid images tell us about life.  They may be simple, but they are touching, and deeply meaningful and "on point" for anyone who has experienced all of these things in their own lives.  There is a reason why Christ's words come back and hit so deeply upon anyone who has tried and failed to find satisfaction in a world where "deceit of riches" can let us down, or we can lose ourselves in chasing goals and dreams that really aren't what we truly, deeply need.  Jesus' words remain vivid in impact and meaning.  They hit home, so to speak, and find us where we truly live when we get serious about finding a better path in life.  Repentance becomes a powerful experience perhaps because there are times when we most bitterly feel and come to know the aptness of Christ's descriptions of the things that inhibit the productivity of the word within us.  When we truly seek to cultivate His path, we may come to realize the joy of the productivity He names, perhaps thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore hear the parable of the sower

 

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

 

- Matthew 13:18-23 

 

As we began chapter 13 of St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus began a new kind of preaching.  He gave the parable of the Sower to the crowds.  (See Tuesday's reading.)  Yesterday, we read that following His giving of this parable, the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 

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

 

Jesus explains: "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside."  In yesterday's commentary, we discussed the "two ways" found in the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity, and how Christ's words exemplified aspects of this understanding.  Here, He seems to give us hints regarding His words (in yesterday's reading) teaching about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and those who have been given to understand, contrasted with those who haven't.  He said, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  Here He gives us an insight into how such wisdom works:  when people are exposed to the teachings of Christ regarding the kingdom, and they do not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away the word that was sown in the heart.  Without our capacity for spiritual sight and hearing, the "wicked one," the devil, is able to leave us empty, to take away the good word we've been given.  Our lack of understanding, in this picture that Jesus gives us, leaves us vulnerable to the effects of evil and its active presence in our world.  Thus, we lose "even what we have" when we fail to grasp Christ's words.  We might presume, or so it seems, regarding Christ's statement to the disciples in yesterday's reading, that God is at work in this process.  He said to the disciples that "it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."  Who is the Giver?  Why is something given to one, and not to another?  We must presume, therefore, that this giving and understanding (or receiving) is a kind of two-way street or effect, a synergistic reality that involves both God and the reception of the human being.  We don't know why something is given to one and not the other.  Equally mysterious, do we know why one understands and another does not?  We should recall that the words of Isaiah quoted by Jesus indicate a hardness of heart, a dullness created by habits of not caring, not paying attention, not seeking to understand.    Repentance, also, plays a strong hand in such matters of understanding, because repentance indicates a turning toward God, not simply regret or recognition of past mistakes. In repentance, we seek to place ourselves on the road toward Christ.  And so, we go into the parable of the Sower, and the word sown by Him.  How does that word take root within us?  What kind of soil do we need to provide for it?  And how do we get that, prepare it, fertilize it, make good things grow?  How do we take that word to heart, consider it precious, nurture it?  Do we treasure the word He offers, and what it means for us to be capable of living it?  We have to truly desire it.  This is the spiritual life the Word offers to us, as He sows His gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  Let us seek to produce the good crops He asks of us, a hundredfold, maybe sixty, even thirty.

 

 

 

He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses

 

 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.

 

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."   The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour. 

 

Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"He Himself took our infirmities

And bore our sicknesses." 

 

- Matthew 8:1-17 

 

 Yesterday we read the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Jesus taught,  "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

 

 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.  My study Bible reminds us that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13 - 14.  In Deuteronomy 24:8 we find the description of the purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  My study Bible says that leprosy was considered a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or worship in synagogues or in the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), yet Jesus touched the leper, and showed His compassion, revealing that He is not subject to the Law but over it.  My study Bible comments that to the clean, nothing is unclean (Romans 14:14; Titus 1:15).  

 

 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  A centurion (who was a Gentile) commanded 100 men in a Roman legion.  Jesus is the Savior of all, my study Bible tells us, and in Him all ethnic distinctions are void.  

 

And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."   My study Bible says that Jesus' reply, I will come, has been read as a question by many Greek scholars:  "Shall I come?" In any case, Jesus is ready to deal graciously with this Gentile, even to enter into his house, which would make Him unclean in the eyes of the Jews.  

 

 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."   My study Bible tells us that the centurion expresses unusual faith in Jesus, who is a Jew, by calling Him Lord.  This statement, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof,"  is often quoted in liturgical texts as an ideal expression of humility.  

 

 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"  There are only two places in the Gospels in which we're told that Jesus marveled.  One was at the unbelief in His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and here at the belief of this foreigner.  

 

 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Here Christ nullifies any concept of ethnic superiority, my study Bible tells us.  The rejected sons of the kingdom are both Jews who deny Christ and those raised in the Church who do not live their faith.  Outer darkness and weeping and gnashing are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol (Hades) in the Jewish tradition (Enoch 103:8).  These are common expressions in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30).  This is also found at Luke 13:28.

 

 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."  My study Bible notes that this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (where St. Peter is called Cephas) indicate that he was married.  My study Bible adds that Christ's healing miracles are diverse.  In this case, He heals by touch; but in the case of the centurion's servant (above) Christ healed by a word.  This healing is immediate and complete; others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or require the cooperation of the person healed or of his loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  As the final quotation in today's reading reveals (from Isaiah 53:4), all of Christ's miracles manifest His redemption of ailing humanity.  

 

 The final quotation in today's reading (from Isaiah) emphasizes something essential to the story of Christ and of Christianity.  It gives us a sense of the Cross, and the Cross is at the center of all things in our faith.  In our own encounters with others, we're encouraged to imitate Christ in that we might have our own sacrifices to make, but when we do so as we attempt to follow Him, our own crosses lead to resurrections, just like the Cross of Christ.  So every healing that we witness in the Gospels is in some sense also like a crucifixion, but lead to a resurrection.  Christ is clearly putting Himself out for all in His ministry; He has come into public ministry to serve, and He does so both by teaching and through His miracles and signs, through the casting out of demons and also of healing.  All of this goes together.  St. Paul also images this vulnerability of the Cross and its sacrifice when he writes of his own infirmity in addressing the Corinthians.  He writes, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 7-10).  We do not know exactly what was St. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" but he speaks of suffering, likely a physical ailment, and characterized it as a messenger of Satan specifically sent to buffet (meaning repeatedly strike) him, a kind of evil oppression.  But God's response is the response of the Cross, and St. Paul's own cross, as he explains, "lest [he] be exalted above measure." the Lord's response is pure grace, and St. Paul's final word the image of the Cross:  "For when I am weak, then I am strong." It is his own weakness and vulnerability, the sacrifice of various hardships for the gospel he preaches, in which Christ's power all the more shines through him.  This is resurrection, even healing, if you will, in the midst of difficulties and tribulations.  Jesus is the same, the prime example of the image of the Cross, for as He preaches and heals and ministers, so His power is magnified and spread through the world, even as He is persecuted and living a life of sacrifice.  The Cross, of course, is the ultimate sacrifice as well as the greatest power, for it will defeat death for all of us that we may follow Him to eternal life.  In today's reading, Jesus exemplifies sacrifice in that He will touch a leper, and dare to enter the centurion's home, each of which can easily earn him condemnation and public opprobrium.  But it is the Lord's power that shows through all that He does and magnifies Him in glory, even as He serves all.  

 

 

Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.' "

 

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear,  Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other tings entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 

- Mark 4:1–20 

 

Yesterday we read that, having appointed the Twelve to become His apostles, Jesus and the disciples went into a house.   Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" --  because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."  

 

  And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  As in the other Synoptic Gospels, Jesus begin preaching in parables with the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-3; Luke 8:4-5).  Let us note that He began to teach by the sea because by now there is a great multitude gathered to Him.  It's important to understand this beginning of teaching in parables comes when His ministry draws great crowds to Him.  Jesus' saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" is an echo of the Old Testament prophets; see Isaiah 6:9-10; Ezekiel 3:27; Jeremiah 5:21; Deuteronomy 29:4.

 

 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.' "  The disciples' question is answered first by Jesus not as to explain its meaning, but to give the reason for His preaching in parables.  He responds by a reference to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study Bible comments that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Isaiah's prophecy does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common in Scripture and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  God has permitted their self-chosen blindness and deafness.  People did not become blind and deaf to the message of Christ because it God spoke through Isaiah, but the prophet spoke because he foresaw their blindness.

 

 And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear,  Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  In this parable, my study Bible comments, our Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  My study Bible asks us to note that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith (a view which was never held by the historic Church), the teaching of Jesus here is quite clear that it is possible for some to receive the word with gladness, but endure only for a time.

 

 In today's reading we first of all observe that Jesus begins speaking in parables only when His ministry has grown so that by now there is a great multitude which follows Him -- so many people that He must sit in a boat facing the shore to preach.  In the beginning of His ministry, the disciples whom He told to "Follow Me" were those who had already been disciples of St. John the Baptist, and were led by the Baptist to Christ (Mark 1:17; John 1:29).  Here He is before the crowds who have heard of Christ's fame -- and especially of His healing and casting out of demons.  They are drawn to Him not necessarily because they seek discipleship.  What we may conclude from Christ's choice to preach in parables before this multitude then, is that He desires a faith that is not based on coercion or manipulation or the appeal of miraculous occurrences.  Indeed, the faith that He is seeking is one that can perceive with a different set of eyes and ears, one not drawn simply by appearance or public acclaim.  And this dynamic surely plays out in our own lives, and even in every generation.  Moreover, the kind of faith He's looking for is one that will grow in us, and become through this process strong enough to endure through tribulation or persecution.  The sense of rootedness that He speaks of ("they have no root in themselves") is something that is deep within us, not merely on the surface through some sort of material attraction or promise.  Parables work, in some sense, as icons.  They are images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the deep things of God, as my study Bible puts it.  But, as the quotation from Isaiah indicates, these deep things are not evident to everybody.  What Christ is looking for are those with spiritual ears to hear -- and even then, not all people have the same degree of understanding.  These various possible outcomes conveyed by the parable, which Jesus explains in private to His disciples, are all things, in fact, that we may occasionally experience even as faithful.  We all may be tempted to stumble (for example as did St. Peter; see this reading).  But the rootedness of the faith Christ seeks is that which has endurance, forbearance, patience, and a deep love for the things of God:  those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.  Note that the qualities Christ seeks in the parable all indicate a faithfulness through time.  For how else can we bear fruit, except through the times of our lives and the living out of our faith through all things?  This is an ever-deepening process, one with difficulties, and hard choices, and one subject to temptation.  The material-oriented life we lead in modern times, all the desires which are fed through coercion or persuasion, our impulses to rage, to take what we think we deserve from others, to shortcut or ignore the realities and values of the spiritual life:  these are all with us, and in some ways are perhaps stronger than ever.  But, yet, faith endures, and is the antidote to the easy things we think we can grab -- popular images we consume on social media, the temptation to addictions of all kinds, the lack of vision to persist through hardship and discomfort.  But our lives are made of more than this, and Christ asks for those who can seek it and live that fullness, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

 

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries  of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,

 And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.   Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in a time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 

- Luke 8:1–15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

  Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  My study Bible comments that these women were faithful to Christ to the end (Luke 23:49, 55), and they were the first to receive and to proclaim the news of His Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  In Scriptures, it notes, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness, indicating that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing. 

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  As the crowds around Jesus have grown extremely large (a great multitude), and many people now come to hear Him speak, He initiates His speaking style in parables with this first one, the parable of the Sower. 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries  of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  My study Bible comments here that mysteries are not obscure intellectual concepts, but the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  A person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.   My study Bible quotes St. John Chrysostom here:  "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."  Jesus refers to the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).

 

 "Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.   Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in a time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  Here Jesus explains the parable to His disciples.  My study Bible comments that, as the sower in the parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13.  It asks us to note that while some might teach that a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith -- a view which was never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Christ is clear in the explanation of the parable that it's possible for one to believe for a while and then fall away.  

My study Bible describes parables as stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  In Hebrew and Aramaic, it says, the words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  They express a constant which persists even today in the Near and Middle East, the seeming paradox of mysteries or riddles that tell us truths which are elusive and not always obvious to our minds.  Parables are also poetical, in the sense that they give us metaphors to think about, ways to conceive of ourselves in our world and before God.  Although their images are drawn from every day life to reach all, they communicate the deep things of God.  But, as my study Bible indicates, and Jesus says Himself in today's reading, the truth communicated in Christ's parables is not evident to all who hear.  Thus, midst these crowds, He's seeking those who can respond.  The parable of the Sower illustrates various levels of acceptance of such truths and the working of faith.  They indicate whether or not we have persistence, or whether difficulties can put us off this pursuit of faith.  The parable expresses the joy with which someone may receive the gospel, only to turn away at a later date.  It also teaches us that not everyone immediately accepts or grasps Christ's truths, and the word (or seed) of God.  The parable of the Sower teaches us what it is to persist in the struggle for our faith, just as St. Paul tells us that we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:11-13).  Clearly the "action" of the parable is dynamic, meaning that this central drama of faith is one that persists throughout our lives, and is not meant merely for a moment's decision.  We're all capable of doubt, of struggle with temptation and with hardship, and like St. Peter (for one example in the Gospels), we're capable of failure and return.  There will be times when we struggle to accept what God is trying to teach us, and times when we grasp it with joy.  Today's reading begins with the illustration of the women, who in their own example give us an image of what the parable teaches.  Even Mary Magdalene, who will be the first to see the resurrected Christ, and carry the word to the apostles (as her title, Apostle to the Apostles, indicates), is one who had been fully immersed in darkness, as the text tells us, given over to "the other side," as we might say.  We can imagine their persistence in faith, as they remained true to Christ throughout His ministry, His Crucifixion and death, and in the early Church.  Let us endeavor to be like the women, pursuing our salvation, keeping His word, struggling through temptation and hardship, even tribulation.  For keeping His word produces a value beyond the cares, riches, and pleasures of life with which we may imagine Mary Magdalene herself struggled, and overcame to produce fruit far beyond a hundredfold -- even to inspire us today.  In these women we see those who heard the word with a noble and good heart, kept it, and bore fruit with patience through all things.

 

 

 

If you love Me, keep My commandments

 

 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  

"A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

 

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love  the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."

 

- John 14:15–31 

 

In yesterday's lectionary reading, we were given the beginning of Christ's Farewell Discourse to the apostles, spoken at the Last Supper.  He said to them, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever  . . ."  My study Bible comments that the Helper (in Greek, παράκλητος/parakletos) refers to the Holy Spirit.  This title, it says, also means "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  This term, in ancient Greek culture, signified one who came to help with legal matters, but expanded to include any form of support or encouragement.  In the context of the New Testament, it indicates the Holy Spirit, who acts as a divine helper and guide for believers.  

". . . the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."  The Spirit of truth is in each believer, my study Bible says, and we are called to know Him.  The Holy Spirit, it recalls, prays for us when we do not know how to pray, enabling us to pray in Christ's name (John 14:13-14; Romans 8:26) and giving us words of witness when we speak the gospel (Mark 13:11).

 

 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also."  According to my study Bible, the brief separation of Christ from His disciples at His death will lead to a deeper mystical union after the Resurrection, and to the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

 

"At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you."   My study Bible comments that that day is a reference to Pentecost.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who tells us that it is "the power of the Holy Spirit that taught them all things."

 

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."   Again, the emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit is given here, and more explicitly.  My study Bible comments that we have confidence in the apostles' doctrine (Acts 2:42) because the Holy Spirit is their Teacher; He brings to remembrance not only Christ's words, but also their meaning.  It says that we have confidence in the Church because the Holy Spirit is our Instructor as well from Pentecost until today, leading us into all truth (John 16:13).  There is a quotation cited from St. Irenaeus:  "Where the Church is, there is the Holy Spirit and the fullness of grace."

 

 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  Peace, according to my study Bible, was the customary Jewish word of both greeting and farewell.  Perfect peace is brought by Christ, who reconciles humanity to God (Ephesians 2:14).  Peace, it says, is part of the traditional greeting of Christians to one another (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3), and the greeting "Peace be to all" is offered many times during the liturgical services of the Church.

 

"You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe."   My Father is greater than I does not mean that the Father is greater in nature or essence than the Son; the Father and the Son share one divine nature.  Neither does it mean that the Son is created, for the Son is begotten from all eternity (John 1:1-5).  Instead, it means that the Father, who is the Fountainhead of the Trinity, is the eternal cause of the Son.  According to my study Bible, before it comes is a reference to Christ's coming Passion.  To tell of these events before they happened was a way to strengthen the disciples' faith. 

 

 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love  the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do."  The ruler of this world, my study Bible says, is the devil (see also John 12:31; 16:11), who dominates the realm of those who do not love Christ or keep His commandments.  Jesus has said the devil has nothing in Me because there can be no compromise between Christ or His followers and the devil.  Jesus became a human being, but was never stained with sin.

 

"Arise, let us go from here."  Jesus takes His disciples to another room or location to complete His discourse, so that He will gain their undivided attention.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, their current location was susceptible to intrusions, and the disciples were likely to be distracted from fear.

 

In today's reading, the disciple  Judas asks Jesus a question (not Iscariot, for that Judas is no longer present at the Last Supper in this setting).  The text tells us Judas says, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."  What are we to make of this?  How can this not be the greatest gift possible in life, in this world, and for all of us?  There is a great, tremendous promise here.  Imagine that the Father will love us, and both Christ and the Father will come to us and make Their home with us.  We also have to understand -- given the whole text of today's reading -- that this We in "We will come to him and make Our home with him" includes the Holy Spirit also.  How can we not imagine that kind of grace as the most wonderful and stupendous gift in the whole world, and that is better, in fact, than the whole world and what it can offer to us?  But there is a sort of catch, a premise here made for us in order to realize that promise.  Jesus says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word."   We first need to love Him, and that means we will keep His word.  We think of grace as that which comes to us undeserved, even when we are unworthy.  And this is the truth about grace, for we can never "earn" what grace offers, as we're not capable of paying some sort of indeterminable price beyond anything we can understand.  We don't have anything we can possibly do to earn what is beyond this world.  But that doesn't mean there are no conditions implied here.  That doesn't mean that becoming a person capable of receiving that grace doesn't involve some sort of two-way street.  For that is, in fact, what love is.  It's a two-way street.  One could possibly venture to say that without this two-way street of love, there is no love at all.  There is just some sort of strange entitlement, a power relationship that doesn't work at all and is no longer about love.  Christ asks for our love here, and not only does He ask for our love, He tells us quite plainly that love isn't just a question of feeling something or believing something.  Love is a matter of doing something.  To love Christ is to keep His word.  What does that mean?  How can we keep Christ's word?  Is this a question of being perfect all the time?  No, it is a question of love, of being loyal out of love, of making every effort to live by what He has given us, to cherish this gift He has given of His word, which He clearly says comes from the Father in the first place.  Therefore we keep His word in love, and in turn He and the Father (and the Holy Spirit, for where One Person of the Trinity is present, all are present) will come and make Their home with us.  This is the simple, straightforward way God finds and makes a home in us:  we love God and keep the word Christ has given us.  This is covenant, it is union, it is a kind of marriage.  We are the Bride and He is the Bridegroom, only our Bridegroom does not come alone to make a home with us.  He brings more, and so much more.  How can we not accept such a gift?  Where are we going to find a better one?  Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."  This is what it means to keep His word.  Let us live that love He desires.

 

 

 

 

 

And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop

 

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught the many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.'"

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 

- Mark 4:1–20 

 

Yesterday we read that the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread in the house.  But when Jesus' own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.  Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 

  And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught the many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  As in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, here in St. Mark's Gospel the first parable told by Jesus is the parable of the Sower.  Let us note that by now a great multitude is gathered to Him by now, and this is the context in which He begins to speak in parables.

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand;  Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"  My study Bible comments that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Isaiah's prophecy does not mean God causes spiritual blindness in those who otherwise would be faithful.  This is a figure of speech, it says, common to Scripture, which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  Jesus is quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  Here Jesus explains to His disciples that in the parable of the Sower, He reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  My study Bible asks us to note that contrary to the belief some hold that a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith (a view never held by the historic Church), Jesus' teaching is clear in the parable that it's possible to receive the word in gladness, but to endure only for a time in that faith.

Looking at Christ's explanation of the parable, we read among other things what my study Bible notes, that it's possible for people to believe for a while, and then fall away (Luke 8:13).  But perhaps at this time for modern audiences and the world we live in today, it's important to examine the next category in Jesus' explanation of the parable.  That is, the ones who are sown among thorns.  These thorns may easily represent the state of our world for so many today.  As Jesus puts it, the thorns form all kinds of temptations and distractions that take us away from the course of faith, and challenge us to put so many other things first in terms of what we devote ourselves to, and where we focus.  If we note the first two places on which the seeds fall, the first belongs to those fallen by the wayside, who are easily affected by Satan and have the word taken from their hearts.  The second (stony ground) belongs to those for whom Christ's word is not deep-rooted, and so in tribulation or persecution fall away.  We should note that this was a very real threat and presence for the early Christians, as they lived in places where Christianity was persecuted or outlawed, and where simply trying to be a faithful Christian was difficult as it easily conflicted with the practices of the community and the state power which was officially aligned with pagan practices and loyalties.  There are still many places in the world where Christians suffer persecution and tribulation for their faith.  But for today for most in the West, we are beset by the things which Jesus calls thorns.  Jesus says, "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."  Perhaps we could say that in a world where we are all interconnected through social media, and so advertisement and consumer culture permeates so much of what pervades our lives all the time, these thorns are ever-present to us.  They constantly present themselves as things in which everyone else is participating, and so we need to keep up and participate as well.  Social media magnifies our images of ourselves and of one another, inviting constant comparison and competition.  Whether that be for "Likes" on any media platform, or followers, or any set of those whom we might call friends by the frequency and type of their association, these thorns become the "cares of this world" that are seemingly always with us wherever we turn.  What house do we live in? What do we look like?  What clothes are we wearing?  What social engagement are we going to, where have we been seen and with whom -- these things become the stuff of constant consumption on social media.  It's likely that many of us never consider how far outside the norm of historical human society it is to live in such a constant bubble of comparison and evaluation on such social terms, but this is yet another sign of Christ's perception about human life and the things which distract us from the real place we need to be in His sight.  Social media invites us easily to be precisely what Jesus criticized the most:  hypocrites who pose as one thing which is virtuous on Christian terms, but while the contradictions we live never make it to that picture on social media, we easily delude ourselves and others about what we're doing, and lose the place where our focus should be.  We also easily lose our humility, and can get caught up in our image in the sight of others instead, even unwittingly, for the pull of such life is strong upon us.  We fall victim to the hypocrisy and cowardice of the religious rulers of Christ's time, described in John's Gospel as an error produced in those "who loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  Jesus describes the thorns as the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things, and we can concern ourselves forever with all the things we think we need, with false promises seemingly held by acquiring wealth and more "things," and with our envy of others who always seemingly have what's "more" and what's "better" than we do.  All of these things have clearly always been with us, for Jesus says them to His contemporary audience.  But with modern communications and social media, they become even more magnified for us.  Let us learn to focus on His word, and to label these things the thorny distractions that they are, for the word "deceitfulness" that Jesus uses here is important.  Such distractions turn our values upside down from where they need to be, and they take away our humility before God, making other things so much more important than our inner lives, our prayer before God, the place of the heart that knows God's love and grace and mercy.  Let us remember that we easily make anything commodified, an idol, turning even virtue into something we sell or declare to others, tempting us to repeat what pass for popular "truths" that are no such thing at all, tempting us to lie about who we are simply to avoid popular censure.  All of these things are deceitful as well, and they become one more aspect of a sense of progress that is all about what we can acquire, what wealth produces, how the cares of this world work within us and flood even our most important relationships.  Let us remain valiant in our prayer, hearing the word and accepting it, and bearing the fruit such a life can bear, if we endure in our faith and its practice, despite the thorns. 

 

 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

 

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

 

- John 1:1-18 

 

On Saturday, we were given our final reading in the Gospel of Matthew:   While the women at the tomb were going to tell the disciples of the great news of Resurrection, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Today we begin reading the Gospel of John, and the passage selected for today is called its Prologue.  There are extensive notes in my study Bible on this important passage.  Here, in the beginning recalls us to the creation story in Genesis, but it speaks more specifically about the Creator.  Moreover, Genesis spoke of the first creation, but here John reveals the new creation in Christ.  Was the Word (in Greek, λογος/logos):  My study Bible points out that "was" indicates existence without reference to a starting point, and so emphasizes the Word's eternal existence without beginning.  "Logos," it says, can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word," each of which are attributes of the Son of God.  The Word was with God:  "With" shows that the Word (that is, the Son of God) is a distinct Person from the Father, and also that He is in eternal communion with the Father.  That the Word was God shows that the Word -- the Son of God -- is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, my study Bible explains.  It notes that the Son Himself is God with the same divinity as the Father.  Some twist and mistranslate this phrase to read "the Word was a god" in support of a heresy that the Son is a created being, and not fully divine.  This my study Bible calls unsupportable, false, dishonest, and deceptive. 

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.   Here the Gospel tells us that the Word is the co-Creator with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1; Psalms 33:6, 9; Hebrews 1:2), and is not simply an instrument or servant used by god the Father.  My study Bible comments that will, operation, and power are one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The heavens and the earth are the works of the One who made them; and the Son was not made but is eternally begotten of the Father.  

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  My study Bible comments that only God has life in Himself.  So, therefore, the Word, being God, is the source of life, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The life was the light of men:  Here John is introducing humankind as receiver of divine light.  As we participate in the life of the Son, believes themselves may become children of the light (John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5).  My study Bible notes that Moses saw the divine light in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2); the whole nation of Israel saw it at the Red Sea (Exodus 13:21); Isaiah saw it in his heavenly vision (Isaiah 6:1-5); and three apostles saw it at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5).

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  My study Bible says that darkness includes both spiritual ignorance and satanic opposition to the light.  Those who hate truth, it notes, prefer ignorance for themselves and strive to keep others ignorant as well (John 3:19).  The word which is translated as comprehend indicates both to "understand" and to "overcome."  So, therefore, the Gospel declares that darkness can never overpower the light of Christ, nor can it understand the way of love. 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  Here the text speaks of John the Baptist (not the author of this Gospel).  Appearing so early in the text, and so closely to the declaration of the Son and Word, we should be given to understand the central importance of the figure of the Baptist. 

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  My study  Bible comments here that Christ offers light to every person, but the world and even many of His own refuse to receive Him.  So, therefore, they can neither know nor recognize Him. It says that those who accept Christ have His light.  In the Orthodox Church, there is a hymn sung at the end of Liturgy, after hearing the Gospel and receiving communion:  "We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit." 

 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: . . .  My study Bible explains that right as used here also means "authority."   This is indicative not of an inalienable right, but of a gift from God.  Those who receive Christ become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7) and by grace inherit everything Christ is by nature.  To believe in His name means to believe and trust in Him who in His humanity took the name Jesus as Word, Son, Messiah, and Savior. 

 

 . . . who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  Adoption as a child of God is not a matter of ethnic descend (of blood) as it was in the Old Testament; nor do people become children of God by natural birth (the will of the flesh), nor by a person's own choice (the will of man).  Becoming a child of God, my study Bible explains, is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit.  This is accomplished and manifested in the sacrament of Holy Baptism (John 3:5-8; see Titus 3:4-7).  

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  That the Word became flesh clarifies the way in which the Son of God came to His people, and points specifically to His Incarnation.  The Word became fully human without ceasing to be fully God.  Christ assumed complete human nature.  According to my study Bible, this means in body, soul, will, emotion, and even mortality, and everything that pertains to humanity except sin.  As He is God and Human in one Person, Christ pours  divinity into all of human nature, for anything which was not assumed by Christ would not be healed.  That the Word dwelt among us is expressed literally using a word that means "tented" or "tabernacled" in the Greek (ἐσκήνωσεν/eskinosen).  This was so in the ark of the covenant and later in the temple.  But here Christ the eternal Word comes to dwell in and among humanity itself.  His glory refers both to His divine power shown by His signs and wonders (John 2:11; 11:4, 40) and also to Christ's humble service to mankind, which is shown most perfect on the Cross (John 12:23-32; 13:31).  In both ways, my study Bible says, He reveals that He is the One sent from the Father.  Only begotten of the Father:  My study Bible comments that the Son has no beginning, but has the Father as His source from eternity.  Christ is called "only" begotten because there is no other born from the Father.  (The Holy Spirit exists eternally from the Father through another mystery called "procession"; see John 15:26.)  Full of grace and truth:  This is a phrase which qualifies both "the Word" and "His glory."  "Grace" is Christ's uncreated energy which is given to us through His love and mercy, my study Bible explains.  "Truth" includes Christ's faithfulness to His promises and covenant and also to the reality of His words and gifts.  

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  As the Scriptures say that we have all received of His fullness, it confirms that God's grace can fill human nature to the extent of actually deifying it, my study Bible says.  In Christ, therefore, God's children become gods by grace (John 10:34-35) without ceasing to be human.  A classic example found in patristic commentary compares this to metal thrust into a fire:  it takes on properties of fire -- such as heat and light, but it does not cease to be metal.  So human nature permeated by God may take on properties of the divine nature.  Grace for grace is a Semitic expression which signifies an overabundance of grace.  

No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. No one has seen God at any time:  My study Bible comments that no one can see the nature, or essence, of God -- for to see God is to die (Exodus 33:20).  Only One who is Himself divine can see God, and thus the Son is the only One who can declare Him.  This revelation of God's energies can be received by the faithful.  Moses saw the "back" of God (Exodus 33:21-23); Isaiah saw God's glory (see Isaiah 6:1; John 12:41).  

John's Gospel begins by introducing us to what we might suppose would be the conclusion to the New Testament; that is, we're introduced to who Christ is in truth.  Many of the statements here can be recognized as part of the Creed.  So important are these foundational verses to the whole history of Christianity that they form the basis of all mainstream churches, and have done so since antiquity (codified at the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD).  But clearly these beliefs were already widely known and accepted in the Church at the time of the writing of this Gospel by the end of the first century.  Many people today wish to assume that these understandings in today's passage of just who Christ was were things that developed much later in the timeline of Christian history, but the Prologue of John proves that this  is simply not the case at all.  The fact that this widely-ranging expression of just who Christ is came to be included in the Gospel proves that these ideas were already known and accepted at this very early time.  They thus form the bedrock of the faith, and rightly so.  These concepts constitute the understanding of the first disciples, and we may agree with the historic Church that John, this youngest of the disciples, was an old man when his Gospel was written.  In icons, he's often depicted as dictating to one of his spiritual children.  In terms of actual authorship, whether John literally wrote the Gospel, or whether his disciples collected and wrote his teachings matters very little.  This is the testimony of John.  John lived a long life, experiencing persecution and exile.  As such, and as the one who became guardian and "son" to Mary the Mother of God (John19:26), he is the survivor who testifies to us of the fullness of the early Church, through this Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  Let us pay attention as is due as we read through his Gospel.